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Plate I · Governor-elect Donalds beside empty land and the power data centers need
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The Lead · Politics · Statewide
Leading the Future, an AI industry super PAC, gave $3 million to American Mission Florida, a state political committee that paid for pro-Donalds TV ads. Now the PAC tells POLITICO it looks forward to working with him as governor.
OpenAI president Greg Brockman and the two founders of the venture firm Andreessen Horowitz funded a super PAC that, POLITICO reports, spent millions backing Byron Donalds. Donalds, a Republican congressman who becomes governor Jan. 5, will help pick the state board that rules on what data centers pay for power. The PAC now says it looks forward to working with him. After the Nov. 3 vote, Florida has the most people of any Republican-led state, but no giant data center of the kind big tech firms build, POLITICO found. Donalds once said Florida should lead on data centers, but he now backs limits
on building them near homes.
Why it matters: Florida's new data center law says power rates must, within reason, make each user of 50 megawatts or more pay its full cost, not other customers. Florida Power & Light's and Tampa Electric's rate plans for those users are still before the Florida Public Service Commission, the five-member board that sets their rates. The governor fills its seats from names a state nominating council sends, and the Senate confirms them.
The story so far: In February, the PAC said it planned to spend about $5 million to help Donalds, NBC News reported. The AP called the Nov. 3 governor's race for Donalds over Democrat David Jolly, a former Republican congressman. Apart from the race, the commission turned down Duke Energy Florida's data center plan 5-0 the same day. Two commissioners' terms end Jan. 1, and Gov. Ron DeSantis reappointed both Oct. 14, pending Senate confirmation. State law lets a new governor recall such a pick within 30 days of taking office. No record says Donalds plans
to.
What's new: In a statement POLITICO published Nov. 10, Leading the Future congratulated Donalds. "We look forward to working with Governor-Elect Donalds to advance policies that support innovation and expand economic opportunity across Florida," said Zac Moffatt, a co-strategist for the PAC. POLITICO reported that the PAC "spent more than $5 million in support of Donalds." No record ties the AI money to any commission, legislative or other state act.
What's next: The Legislature meets to organize on Tuesday, Nov. 17. Orders suspending the FPL and Tampa Electric plans for review are due Monday, Nov. 23. Donalds takes office Tuesday, Jan. 5. POLITICO reports lawmakers are likely to revisit an AI "bill of rights" next session, which starts March 2.
Old Florida Money desk · Wed Nov 11 · Part of OFM's running story, Tallahassee Money. "More than $5 million" in support of Donalds is POLITICO's figure; federal and state records show the PAC's $3 million into one Florida committee, and not all of that committee's money went to Donalds ads. Donalds's positions are as POLITICO, WUSF and NPR report them; his office did not respond to POLITICO. · Sources: POLITICO via Yahoo News; NBC News; NPR; Federal Election Commission; Florida Division of Elections; WUSF; Suncoast Searchlight; Bloomberg via Insurance
Journal; Florida Phoenix; News Service of Florida; Tampa Bay Times; Florida Statutes; The Florida Senate; Florida Public Service Commission; Executive Office of the Governor; WLRN
Read the full story
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Plate II · The Dunedin marina seawall, one of the storm repairs on Sen. Ashley Moody’s list of FEMA reimbursements
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Money Pulse
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Ashley Moody has raised her Florida FEMA total five times since May
Sen. Ashley Moody announced Nov. 9 that she has secured more than $2.5 billion in FEMA disaster money for Florida, her fifth higher total since May, and her office says Florida has waited on some of it since 2017. FEMA's own records show about $2.2 billion of its aid first committed to Florida projects since she took office, by our arithmetic, the biggest shares for Hurricanes Milton, Ian and Helene. Bartow's city manager said his city waited "18 months, maybe longer" for its share.
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Carl Icahn's refiner sold stock to fund its $4.2 billion buy. Icahn sold none
Carl Icahn's refiner, CVR Energy, sold $500 million of new stock to help pay about $4.2 billion for two Marathon refineries, and Icahn's side, run from Sunny Isles Beach, sold none of its shares, though CVR first planned to include some. By Nov. 9 CVR closed about 18% below the $47.55 the new buyers paid, by our arithmetic, and Icahn's side still owns 64.1%. CVR's new term loan is set to price Nov. 19.
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Plate III · The Tallahassee entrance of the state office that fined Florida’s drug middlemen
Florida fines 13 drug middlemen $12.7 million under its 2023 drug law
Florida Insurance Commissioner Mike Yaworsky announced about $12.7 million in fines Nov. 9 on 13 drug middlemen that run prescription benefits for health plans. Most findings were terms the state's 2023 law requires that were left out of written contracts, not proven cases of keeping rebates, Florida Politics reported. The three biggest, CVS Caremark, Express Scripts and OptumRx, are not on the list, and neither the state nor Florida Politics says why.
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That is the edition. Every story above, with its records, is on the site.
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About
Old Florida Money is a Florida newsletter on where the money goes: the named checks behind houses, teams, races and public votes across the state.
Illustrations are Old Florida Money editorial art. Portraits of public figures are caricature or silhouette, never photographs. Each image carries its credit.
Drawn after reference photographs: Plate I, United States Congress, official portrait of Rep. Byron Donalds, 117th Congress, via Wikimedia Commons (US government work, public domain). Plate II, U.S. Geological Survey, The National Map, USGS Imagery Only basemap (US government work, public domain). Plate III, David Fountain, 1969, State Library and Archives of Florida, Florida Memory PR24996, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain); WhisperToMe, ‘LarsonBuildingTallyFlorida.JPG’, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0). St. Petersburg · Est. MMXXV
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