Maine Governor Janet Mills has vetoed legislation that aimed to temporarily halt permits for new data centers. The proposed law, L.D. 307, would have introduced the nation’s first statewide moratorium on new data centers, effective until November 1, 2027. It also included plans for a 13-member council to evaluate and advise on data center construction.
Amid growing public opposition to data centers, states like New York have explored similar moratorium considerations.
In a letter to the legislature, Mills, a Democrat currently running for the U.S. Senate, acknowledged the environmental and electricity rate impacts of large data centers observed in other states. She expressed willingness to sign the bill if it exempted a data center project in the Town of Jay, which she noted has strong local support.
Melanie Sachs, the Democratic state representative who sponsored the bill, warned that Mills’ veto could negatively impact ratepayers, the electric grid, the environment, and the collective energy future.