Maine Governor Vetoes Data Center Moratorium Bill
- Reference: 0182571044
- News link: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/04/24/2357254/maine-governor-vetoes-data-center-moratorium-bill
- Source link:
> "After prior redevelopment efforts failed, the Town of Jay worked for two years on a $550 million data center redevelopment project to finally bring jobs and investment back to the mill site," Mills [4]wrote , adding that she would issue an executive order establishing a council to examine the impact of data centers in Maine.
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> The legislation would have made Maine the first state to block the construction of new data centers, as both political parties grapple with how voters view them ahead of the midterm elections. In a statement accompanying the letter, the governor said she had signed a separate bill that would prohibit data center projects from receiving Maine's business development tax incentive programs
[1] https://www.maine.gov/governor/mills/news/governor-mills-announces-decision-ld-307-2026-04-24
[2] https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/04/13/0335254/maine-set-to-become-first-state-with-data-center-ban
[3] https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/24/maine-gov-mills-vetoes-data-center-bill-00891762
[4] https://www.maine.gov/governor/mills/official_documents/veto_messages/2026-04-ld-307-act-establish-maine-data-center-coordination
A moratorium is stupid (Score:2)
But any large project should be required to have sufficient infrastructure, and if it doesn't, the builder of the project needs to build the infrastructure. End stop.
Re: A moratorium is stupid (Score:3)
Will that rule apply to commercial (non-datacenter) and residential projects? Must home development builders build their own sanitation and electricity generation facilities, or is it just data centers?
Sad that it came to a veto (Score:2)
This project had been approved already and was known to the residents. I agree a moratorium is wise but this one was already planned in an area that has the generation capacity and will bring some needed jobs. It should have been carved out.
Re: (Score:2)
I don't see this as a "jobs program" at all. Data Centers don't seem to bring jobs. That seems like Billionaire propaganda to me. It just puts money into the pockets of Rich people. It does drive up average electricity rates, and uses a bunch of needed water. Offset that, and I'm OK with with the rich eating their cake.
Re: (Score:2)
"Data Centers don't seem to bring jobs."
Seems is not a great word in an argument one wishes to make.
Guess how long it will take... (Score:2)
> Instead, she said she will create a council to study data centers' effects while also signing a separate measure to deny them certain state tax incentives.
I predict this 'council' will be researching this until after the Fall election, then quickly reach a conclusion...
Also, Gov, you don't need to deny tax benefits, just don't offer them!
I'm embarrassed for my party (Score:2)
America is a All or nothing country. We don't do nuance. We are either going to give all the water and electricity to AI data centers or were not going to build AI data centers. That is just how we roll.
So the only path forward is to either give up on having consistent water and electricity or ban data centers.
A better educated population with higher critical thinking skills could find a middle ground.
A better educated population with higher critical thinking skills wouldn't have half the popula
Re: (Score:2)
Seems like if we can spend a billion dollars a day on bombs, we can buy kids breakfast and lunch at school. Off topic, sorry.
Re: (Score:2)
Or just schools, period.
Don't build this. Don't build that. (Score:1)
I am currently on vacation in Maryland. A place only slightly less blue than my home in Massachusetts.
You know what I see here that I never see there? Road networks built out to handle actual traffic. Public transportation built out to handle commuter volumes. Parking lots at train stations. Housing developments being built to handle a growing population. Land set aside to handle municipal services (schools, sanitation, libraries, etc) for future growth.
I once ventured out into deep purple North Carolina wh
It is not binary, for or against. (Score:2)
There are water, electricity, and infrastructure considerations. If it makes sense, do it, if not, do not do it. I don't think the article lays out the facts enough for us normals to decide.
Re: It is not binary, for or against. (Score:2)
It's a campaign statement dressed up as a Gov't press release. It's not supposed to be informative, it's designed to trigger low-information voters to vote for her.
It must be nice, Maine can just reject investments in the state - who knew they were that flush with employment opportunities?
Re: (Score:2)
To me low information voters say things like "Maine can just reject investments", as data centers don't bring many jobs, suck up a lot of fresh water, and drive up average electricity rates.