Mills to Decide on First-in-Nation AI Data Center Moratorium

Maine Gov. Janet Mills must decide whether to sign or veto a temporary moratorium that would pause approval of new large AI data centers for just over a year and create a council to review proposed facilities at the municipal level. The state legislature approved the bill earlier this week.

The moratorium applies to data centers that exceed a size threshold set in the bill and would halt new project approvals while state and local officials establish review procedures. The law requires a municipal-level council to evaluate proposed projects and give towns formal input on siting and local impacts.

Supporters of the measure cited concerns about noise, pressure on local power grids, and potential effects on energy costs and water supplies as reasons to pause construction of large facilities.

Mills had sought an exemption for a proposed $550 million data center planned in Jay, a small town in central Maine. Last week she told reporters, ‘The people of Jay need those jobs, with appropriate guardrails on preserving water resources, electricity resources, local generation, and all those things.’ The exemption was not included in the version the legislature passed.

The choice arrives as Mills competes in a Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate against Graham Platner, an oyster farmer who leads Mills in recent polls. The timing has drawn political attention to the decision.

Operators of AI-focused political action committees and national donors are monitoring state-level rules on data centers; some groups have already directed substantial spending into federal races this year.

No state has previously enacted a temporary ban on construction of AI data centers. Maine is not yet a major hub for large, energy-intensive facilities, but opposition in several towns and the state’s environmental priorities contributed to the moratorium passing both legislative chambers with limited resistance. In San Francisco, roughly 200 people demonstrated outside offices of AI companies to call for a pause on rapid deployment of more powerful systems.

Representatives for Mills did not immediately respond to requests for comment on whether she will sign or veto the bill.