Janet Mills

Janet Mills is the Democratic Governor of Maine, serving since January 2019. In April 2026 she received the first US statewide data centre moratorium bill passed by any state legislature: Maine's measure pauses large data centre development until November 2029, the most sweeping legislative restriction on data centres enacted anywhere in the country.

The Maine bill was driven by fiscal and environmental concerns: Good Jobs First had documented that data centre tax exemptions were costing states billions in forgone revenue, and Maine legislators cited the lack of commensurate employment and the energy grid implications. As of publication, Mills had not yet signed or vetoed the bill, leaving its fate uncertain. If signed, it would make Maine the reference case for state-level data centre regulation in the United States; if vetoed, it would signal the limits of legislative opposition to the sector.

Mills has positioned herself as a moderate Democrat in a state with competitive politics. Her administration has prioritised rural economic development and energy independence, both of which cut in different directions on the data centre question. She faces pressure from industry groups opposing the moratorium and from environmental and labour groups supporting it.