Gov. Mills vetoes bills to establish data center moratorium, seal criminal history records

Governor Janet Mills of Maine announced on Friday that she vetoed two recently passed bills, including L.D. 307, which sought to establish a one-year moratorium on large data center developments across the state. While acknowledging concerns about environmental and electricity rate impacts from data centers in other states, Governor Mills stated that the bill failed to exempt a crucial $550 million data center redevelopment project planned for the Town of Jay. This project, which enjoys strong local support, aims to revitalize a former mill site in Franklin County, a region heavily impacted by the 2023 closure of the Androscoggin Mill. In lieu of the moratorium, Governor Mills expressed her intent to issue an executive order to create a Maine Data Center Coordination Council. This council will be tasked with examining and planning for the potential impacts of large-scale data centers as the use of artificial intelligence grows. Furthermore, Governor Mills signed L.D. 713, a separate piece of legislation that will prohibit data center projects from participating in the State of Maine's business development tax incentive programs. The second bill vetoed, L.D. 1911, was unrelated to data centers, focusing instead on sealing criminal history records.