Maine Governor Janet Mills has vetoed a bill that would have imposed a temporary halt on permits for new data centers, marking a setback for efforts to regulate the growing industry.
The legislation, known as L.D. 307, would have established the nation's first statewide moratorium on new data centers, lasting until November 1, 2027. It also proposed creating a 13-person council to study data center construction and make recommendations.
With public backlash against data centers intensifying, other states like New York have explored similar pauses.
In a letter to the legislature, Mills—a Democrat currently running for the U.S. Senate—acknowledged that a moratorium could be "appropriate given the impacts of massive data centers in other states on the environment and on electricity rates." She said she "would have signed this bill" had it exempted a data center project in the Town of Jay, which "enjoys strong local support from its host community and region."
Melanie Sachs, a Democratic state representative and the bill's sponsor, responded that Mills' veto "poses significant potential consequences for all ratepayers, our electric grid, our environment, and our shared energy future."