Maine governor vetoes invoice quickly banning massive knowledge facilities within the state

The governor of Maine, Janet Mills, has vetoed a bill that halts the development of enormous knowledge facilities within the state till the autumn of 2027. Whereas the invoice passed both houses of the Maine’s legislature on April 14, and Mills has suggested she’d assist a brief moratorium, the governor wished a invoice that will exempt an existing data center project in Jay, Maine.

The bill particularly blocked the development of information facilities that devour 20 megawatts of energy or extra and directs state businesses and different entities to not challenge permits until proposed tasks fall below these vitality wants. Passing the invoice would additionally require the creation of a “Maine Information Heart Coordination Council” that will “present strategic enter, facilitate coordinated state planning issues and consider coverage instruments to handle knowledge heart alternatives and associated advantages and dangers to the State.”

Whereas Mills killed this try at knowledge heart regulation, she mentioned she would signal an government order calling for the creation of a council just like the one proposed within the invoice. She additionally signed LD 713, a invoice that prohibits knowledge facilities from collaborating in Maine’s enterprise improvement tax incentive applications.

Maine is way from the one state pursuing knowledge heart bans or momentary blocks. There are a minimum of 12 different states exploring related laws, like New York, the place lawmakers recently introduced a bill that will block the development of latest knowledge facilities for a minimum of three years. On the federal degree, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Consultant Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) endorsed a bill that will not solely create a moratorium on new knowledge heart development, but additionally any upgrades to current amenities.

Any want to decelerate AI improvement or the infrastructure that makes it attainable runs counter to the calls for of tech firms, and the angle of the Trump administration, who’s actively encouraging sooner AI buildout within the US. President Donald Trump’s recent AI framework even known as for the method of constructing and powering knowledge facilities to be streamlined in March.