Janet Mills vetoes Maine hyperscale datacenter moratorium bill
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · May 8
Janet Mills vetoes Maine hyperscale datacenter moratorium bill
10 articles · Updated · The Guardian · May 8
The veto blocked an 18-month statewide pause that had made Maine the first state legislature to pass such a measure.
Supporters said the delay would allow review of datacenters' effects on power bills, water and energy use, pollution, jobs and AI companies' influence.
The move comes as local resistance to AI infrastructure grows nationwide, with dozens of projects reportedly stalled or blocked and moratoriums adopted in parts of Indiana and Oklahoma.
As US towns halt AI data centers, are they protecting local rights or offshoring America's technological future?
With AI investment dwarfing revenues, are we building the future or just inflating the next trillion-dollar economic bubble?
Governor Mills’ Veto and Executive Order: Maine’s Contradictory Approach to Data Center Regulation
Overview
In April 2026, Governor Janet Mills vetoed LD 307, blocking a statewide moratorium on large data centers to protect a major project in Jay, a town still recovering from the 2023 closure of the Androscoggin Paper Mill. While the veto allowed the Jay data center to proceed, promising hundreds of jobs and vital tax revenue, Mills simultaneously created the Maine Data Center Advisory Council to study data center impacts and signed a law removing tax incentives for these facilities. This combination created a policy inconsistency: the council studies impacts statewide, yet the largest project moves forward exempted. Maine’s approach reflects the tension between urgent local economic needs and broader environmental and energy concerns, drawing national attention as a test case.