Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME) vetoed a bill that would ban the construction of new data centers in her state.
L.D. 307, “An Act to Establish the Maine Data Center Coordination Council and Place a Temporary Limitation on Certain Data Centers,” was poised to become the first state law to ban the new construction of artificial intelligence data centers, amid a wider panic. Mills vetoed the bill on Friday, telling lawmakers that she mostly agreed with it but that the failure to make an exception for a unique case made her unable to sign it.
“A moratorium is appropriate given the impacts of massive data centers in other states on the environment and on electricity rates. But the final version of this bill fails to allow for a specific project in the Town of Jay that enjoys strong local support from its host community and region,” Mills’s letter to the legislature read.
The case
Continue reading
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!