Maine Governor Vetoes Statewide Data Center Moratorium

Maine Governor Janet Mills, a Democrat running for U.S. Senate, vetoed L.D. 307, which would have created the nation's first statewide data center moratorium lasting until November 1, 2027. The bill, sponsored by Democratic state representative Melanie Sachs, would have halted permits for new data centers and established a 13-person council to study their impacts. Mills stated she would have signed the legislation if it exempted a data center project in the Town of Jay that enjoys strong local support. Sachs warned the veto poses significant consequences for ratepayers, the electric grid, and Maine's energy future, while Mills acknowledged that pausing data centers would be appropriate given their environmental and electricity rate impacts in other states.

Governor Mills' veto of the data center moratorium bill

• ▪Janet Mills is a Democrat currently running for the U.S. Senate
• ▪L.D. 307 would have imposed the country's first statewide moratorium on new data centers
• ▪L.D. 307 called for the creation of a 13-person council to study and make recommendations on data center construction
• ▪L.D. 307 would have imposed a moratorium on new data centers lasting until November 1, 2027
• ▪Melanie Sachs is a Democratic state representative who sponsored L.D. 307
• ▪Maine Governor Janet Mills vetoed a bill that would have temporarily halted permits for new data centers in Maine

The Jay data center project exemption dispute

• ▪Janet Mills said she would have signed L.D. 307 if it had included an exemption for a data center project in the Town of Jay
• ▪The data center project in the Town of Jay enjoys strong local support from its host community and region, according to Janet Mills
• ▪Janet Mills said pausing new data centers would be appropriate given the impacts of massive data centers in other states on the environment and on electricity rates

Broader concerns about data centers' impact on energy and environment

• ▪Melanie Sachs said Janet Mills' veto of L.D. 307 poses significant potential consequences for all ratepayers, the electric grid, the environment, and Maine's shared energy future
• ▪Other states including New York have considered data center moratoriums similar to Maine's L.D. 307
• ▪Public opposition to data centers is rising

Perspective of Maine Governor Janet Mills

• ▪Janet Mills would support a statewide data center moratorium if it exempted projects with strong local community support
• ▪Janet Mills believes the Jay data center project should proceed despite concerns about data centers generally

Perspective of Democratic state representative Melanie Sachs

• ▪Melanie Sachs believes L.D. 307 was necessary to protect Maine's electric grid from impacts of data center development
• ▪Melanie Sachs believes Janet Mills' veto threatens Maine's shared energy future
• ▪Melanie Sachs believes L.D. 307 was necessary to protect Maine ratepayers from electricity rate increases caused by data centers

Perspective of Town of Jay and local supporters

• ▪The Town of Jay community views their data center project as beneficial to the local region
• ▪Local supporters of the Jay data center project opposed L.D. 307's blanket moratorium approach