Gov. Mills vetoes bills on data center moratorium and criminal record sealing

12 articles · Updated · WGME · Apr 24

Governor Janet Mills vetoed L.D. 307, which proposed a one-year pause on large data centers, and L.D. 1911, which aimed to seal certain low-level criminal records in Maine.
Mills cited the lack of an exception for a $550 million data center project in Jay and concerns over the clean slate system for convictions as reasons for her vetoes.
She plans to issue an executive order to study data center impacts and signed LD 713, barring data centers from state tax incentives, while the vetoed measures would have made Maine the first state with such a moratorium.

After a vetoed ban, is Maine truly 'open for business' for big tech?

Will a massive data center truly revive a former mill town's economy?

Can Maine power the AI boom without residents facing higher electricity bills?

Beyond a ban, how can states manage the massive energy demands of AI?

Can New England's power grid handle the enormous appetite of data centers?

Could binding community agreements solve the data center development standoff?