Gov. Janet Mills has vetoed a first-in-the-nation moratorium on new data centers in Maine.
The Maine Legislature passed the law earlier this month, with supporters like bill sponsor Rep. Melanie Sachs saying the state needs time to evaluate the impacts on infrastructure and the environment.
The law calls for the creation of a Maine Data Center Coordination Council to study those impacts.
The bill doesn’t apply to data centers with smaller energy footprints.
Gov. Mills said in her veto letter Friday that a moratorium is appropriate, but it would also stall plans for a data center in Jay that she’s supported.
She says the Jay area has been hit hard economically by the closure of the Androscoggin Mill in 2023.
She previously pushed to have the project excluded from the moratorium.
A two-thirds majority in both chambers of the legislature is required to overturn the veto.
