The nation's eyes are on Maine after Governor Janet Mills vetoed the country's first temporary ban on new data center development, shortly before announcing that she would be dropping out of her bid for a U.S. Senate seat on Thursday.

Maine received national attention for the pending legislation as state lawmakers grapple with growing discontent from constituents and pressure from developers over data centers.

LD 307 would have been the first statewide data center moratorium in the country, banning data centers larger than 20 megawatts until November 2027.

Last Friday, Mills — who is term-limited from running for re-election as governor after this year — vetoed the bill. The Maine House of Representatives failed to secure two-thirds of lawmaker support needed to override the governor's action.

In her veto letter to the Legislature, Mills wrote, "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." 

Ultimately, Mills claimed she would have enacted the bill if it had included an exemption for the development proposed at the former Androscoggin Mill in Jay.

This veto was both lauded and criticized across party lines, with a wide spectrum of opinions given the mixture of advanced technology and the negatives such as pollution and often noise that come with data centers in a community. 

Among the veto's supporters were labor unions and developers with their eyes set on Maine.

The Maine State Chamber of Commerce released an appreciation statement following Mills' veto. "For communities seeking investment, jobs, and renewed tax base growth, projects like this can represent meaningful opportunity."

Among the veto's critics were environmental advocates, local residents, and other political figures.

LD 307 sponsor Rep. Melanie Sachs accused Mills of trading a bill that would protect nearly 1.5 million residents for one project that alleges it could generate 100 jobs. 

"This is not about being anti-development," Sachs said. "It is about being pro-accountability. If a project is going to reshape our energy grid, impact our natural resources and potentially cost shift to ratepayers across the state then it must meet a high bar of transparency and proof, and that bar has not been met."

In a similar vein, a man in Ravenna, Ohio, criticized proposed data center development in his area and dubbed it "an extraction" rather than a benefit. 

Whether because of the public sentiment around her veto or because she was polling behind her primary opponent, oyster farmer Graham Platner, Mills surprised many by suspending her campaign on Thursday for one of Maine's U.S. Senate seats, currently held by Republican Susan Collins. 

"She's concerned more about big business than she is about workers," said former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson in his critique of Mills' veto.

"There's money to be made here, and it's not going to be made by the people in Jay," said Topsham resident Neal Gabler, who stood outside the House chamber following the veto.

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