Governor Janet Mills of Maine has rejected legislation that would pause building of significant data centers across the state through the autumn of 2027. Although the measure gained approval in both chambers of the Maine legislature on April 14, Mills indicated openness to a short-term pause but insisted on provisions sparing a current data center initiative in Jay, Maine.
The proposed law targeted facilities requiring 20 megawatts of electricity or higher, instructing government bodies and organizations to withhold approvals for initiatives exceeding that power threshold. It further mandated establishing a 'Maine Data Center Coordination Council' tasked with offering guidance, promoting unified state strategies, and assessing approaches to balance data center prospects against potential advantages and drawbacks for Maine.
Despite blocking this regulatory effort, Mills announced plans to issue an executive order forming a comparable advisory group. Additionally, she approved LD 713, which bars data centers from accessing Maine's economic growth tax benefits.
Maine joins a growing number of states considering restrictions or pauses on data centers, with more than a dozen others examining comparable proposals. In New York, for instance, legislators have advanced a measure halting new data center developments for a minimum of three years. Nationally, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York have backed federal legislation imposing a halt not just on fresh constructions but also on expansions to current sites.
Efforts to curb the expansion of artificial intelligence or its supporting systems clash with the priorities of technology firms and the Trump administration's stance favoring accelerated AI infrastructure growth in America. In March, President Donald Trump's AI guidelines specifically advocated simplifying the approval and energy supply processes for data centers.