Will Maine's Gov. Janet Mills Sign AI Data Center Ban into Law?

[Uncle Joe]

Communities across the United States are pushing back against resource-draining data centers being built to fuel artificial intelligence and crypto ventures. In Maine, state legislators recently passed a first-in-the-country statewide moratorium on large data centers. "Maine residents are concerned about the impacts of data centers on both their electric rates and other utility rates, as well as on our wonderful environment," says Democratic state Representative Melanie Sachs, who sponsored the bill designed to give legislators time to develop regulations around new data center construction. Sachs says developers have been operating in "complete secrecy," refusing to engage with community stakeholders, while their plans appear to provide "limited economic opportunity with very few local jobs." The bill goes to Maine Governor Janet Mills's desk next.

[littlemissmartypants]

1. She has until April 29, 2026, to make her decision.

[Celerity]

2. Maine Gov. Janet Mills Vetoes Statewide Moratorium on AI Data Centers

https://www.democracynow.org/2026/4/27/headlines/maine_gov_janet_mills_vetoes_statewide_moratorium_on_ai_data_centers

Maine’s Democratic Governor Janet Mills has vetoed what would have been the nation’s first statewide moratorium on large AI data centers.

Mills said in a statement she had blocked the landmark bill because it did not include an exception on a data center in the town of Jay, at the site of a vacant mill that shuttered in 2023.

Maine’s data center moratorium had drawn strong bipartisan support and was backed by Maine residents, who had raised alarm about the potential threats to the environment and higher energy costs.

At least a half a dozen states, including New York and Michigan, have considered similar measures.