Florida’s AI Policy Framework: What Became Law?

CS/SB 482, HB 1395, HB 659, and SB 484

Florida’s 2026 legislative session produced a mix of proposed AI protections, measures that did not advance, and legislation addressing the infrastructure needed to support AI and other high-demand computing activities.

The proposed AI Bill of Rights

CS/SB 482, the Artificial Intelligence Bill of Rights, was a major AI-related proposal considered during the 2026 session. The Senate passed the bill on March 4, 2026, by a vote of 35–2. The House did not pass it, and the measure died in messages on March 13.

The proposal addressed consumer transparency and other potential effects of AI, with particular attention to protecting children. Its failure to become law matters: the bill’s proposed requirements should not be described as current Florida law simply because the Senate passed them.

The Senate’s official announcement identified Senator Tom Leek and the Senate Appropriations Committee in connection with the bill. The relevant legislative record is available through the Florida Senate’s bill page.

Two other proposals illustrate the range of AI-related questions before lawmakers:

• HB 1395, Artificial Intelligence, sponsored by Representative Rizo, died in the House Information Technology Budget & Policy Subcommittee on March 13, 2026.
• HB 659, Interactions with Artificial Intelligence, sponsored by Representative Hunschofsky, died in the House Industries & Professional Activities Subcommittee on March 13, 2026.

These bills addressed different aspects of AI policy. Their failure to advance does not establish that the Legislature rejected every concept they contained, nor does it establish that lawmakers agree on what should replace them. It does, however, leave a range of questions for future sessions.

For practitioners, the distinction between a proposal and an enacted requirement is essential. Compliance advice should be based on the laws and regulations actually in effect, not on the contents of bills that failed to pass.

DeSantis’s proposed AI Bill of Rights

In December 2025, Governor Ron DeSantis announced a proposed Citizen Bill of Rights for Artificial Intelligence. The proposal placed AI-related consumer concerns and individual protections on the state’s policy agenda. That announcement was a policy proposal, not itself an enacted statute. It should also be distinguished from CS/SB 482, the separate legislative measure considered in 2026. The proposals may share themes, but they should not be treated as interchangeable legal instruments. The broader policy questions remain: Should Florida establish specific statutory protections for people interacting with AI systems? Should requirements focus on children, disclosure, data use, or particular high-risk applications? And how should state protections interact with federal law and existing consumer-protection rules?

Data centers, energy, and water

AI policy is also infrastructure policy. Large-scale computing requires land, electricity, water and network capacity, and the siting of data centers has become a prominent part of Florida’s political debate. Florida enacted SB 484, which became Chapter 2026-65. The measure addresses data centers and large-load users, including issues involving utility regulation, local planning and water. It is part of the legal framework governing the infrastructure supporting AI, although its provisions are not equivalent to a comprehensive law regulating AI models or AI applications.

This distinction matters. A state can regulate the physical facilities used by AI companies without adopting broad rules for how AI systems are developed or used. Conversely, consumer-protection or transparency requirements can apply to AI systems without resolving the local infrastructure questions associated with large computing facilities. The policy debate is likely to involve both sets of issues.