In brief
- Janet Mills must decide whether to sign or veto a first-in-the-nation ban on large AI data centers.
- The moratorium, passed by Maine lawmakers, would pause new projects for over a year.
- The decision comes as Mills faces a competitive Senate primary, adding political pressure to the outcome.
Maine Governor Janet Mills, who is currently locked in a bitter Democratic primary for a U.S. Senate seat, will have to decide in the coming days whether to sign or veto the nation’s first-ever ban on AI data centers.
Earlier this week, Maine’s state legislature became the first in the country to pass a temporary moratorium on data centers above a certain size. The ban would last for over a year, and the legislation would also create a council for vetting proposed projects at the town level.
AI data centers, which can often be massive, have attracted plenty of controversy as they’ve popped up in local communities across the country with increasing speed. Complaints have focused on the loud noise generated by the buildings, as well as their sometimes significant impact on local energy prices.
And yet, no state has yet managed to ban the construction of data centers, even for a limited period of time. Maine is not a particular hotspot for AI power sources, at least not yet—but backlash against the controversial energy hubs was sufficient in the independent-minded, nature-loving state to see a ban sail through both chambers of the state legislature with little resistance.
Now, Governor Mills will have to choose whether to sign the moratorium into law, or potentially veto it. Last week, Mills told reporters she wanted an exemption in the legislation for a proposed $550 million data center in Jay, a small town in the center of the state.
"The people of Jay need those jobs, with appropriate guardrails on preserving water resources, electricity resources, local generation, and all those things," the governor said.
Such an exemption was not included in the moratorium the state legislature ultimately passed.
Potentially complicating the decision is the fact that Mills is currently locked in a bitter primary for a U.S. Senate seat against an upstart Democratic rival, Maine oyster farmer Graham Platner. Despite Mills’ profile as the state’s highest ranking official, Platner, who is running to the governor’s left, now leads her in polling by a significant margin.
Weighing in on such a hot-button issue as AI—as her Senate race crescendos—may not be high on Mills’ to-do list. But the governor will soon have to make a call one way or the other. Likely paying close attention will be the operators of the growing number of AI-focused super PACs, which have begun dumping millions of dollars on national races this year.
Representatives for Mills did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment.