Common Questions

Has any US state banned new data centres?: Maine's legislature passed the first US statewide moratorium on large data centre development on 22 April 2026, awaiting Governor Janet Mills's signature. If signed, it becomes the first enacted statewide ban. Good Jobs First counts 12 states with active moratorium bills in 2026.Source: Lowdown
Why is Maine passing a data centre moratorium?: The Maine moratorium reflects concerns about power grid capacity, water consumption, tax abatements, and community displacement from large-scale data centre construction. It follows the defeat of the Sanders/AOC federal proposal by the Democratic caucus in early April 2026.Source: Lowdown
What is Susan Collins's position on the Iran War Powers Resolution?: Collins publicly criticised Trump's annihilation rhetoric without committing to cross the floor and vote for the War Powers Resolution. She and Murkowski are the two most-watched Republican moderates on the Iran WPR votes.Source: Lowdown
Did Maine's data centre moratorium pass?: Maine's legislature passed LD 307 on 22 April 2026, but Governor Janet Mills vetoed it on 24 April. The Maine House attempted an override on 29 April but fell short 72-65, below the two-thirds threshold needed. Mills instead created a Data Center Advisory Council by executive order.Source: Lowdown
Why did Governor Mills veto the Maine data centre moratorium?: Mills cited the $550 million Androscoggin Mill redevelopment in Jay as the reason she could not sign LD 307, arguing the moratorium would block economically significant development projects the state needs.Source: Lowdown
How does Maine split its Electoral College votes?: Maine allocates its two congressional district Electoral College votes separately rather than winner-take-all, making ME-02 a competitive prize. ME-02 voted for Trump in 2016, 2020, and 2024.
What has Susan Collins done on the Iran war vote?: Collins was the first Republican senator to cross party lines on the Iran war, voting yes on the sixth War Powers Resolution challenge on 30 April 2026. She also became a named co-sponsor of the Murkowski Iran AUMF draft.Source: Lowdown
What states have active data centre moratorium bills in 2026?: Good Jobs First tracks 11 active state moratorium bills as of mid-May 2026. Maine's LD 307 (vetoed), Vermont's S.205 (through July 2030), and Oklahoma's bill (through November 2029) are among the most advanced. A wave of five local jurisdiction votes occurred in a single week in mid-May.Source: Good Jobs First / Lowdown

Background

Maine is a small New England state of approximately 1.4 million residents notable in US elections for being one of only two states (alongside Nebraska) that allocates its Electoral College votes by congressional district rather than winner-take-all. Its 2nd Congressional District — rural, northern, voted Trump in 2016, 2020, and 2024 — is a bellwether for working-class rural sentiment in the northeast. Senators Angus King (Independent) and Susan Collins (Republican) frequently hold decisive votes on close legislation: Collins is one of the Senate's most closely watched moderates.

Maine's ranked-choice voting system, adopted in 2016 for federal races, has survived multiple legal challenges and makes it a case study in alternative electoral mechanics that other states have considered.

Maine's legislature passed LD 307, the first US statewide moratorium on large data centre development, on 22 April 2026. Governor Janet Mills vetoed the bill on 24 April 2026, and the Maine House failed to override on 29 April by a 72-65 vote, short of the two-thirds threshold required. Hours after the override failed, Mills signed an executive order creating the Maine Data Center Advisory Council, citing the $550 million Androscoggin Mill redevelopment in Jay as the reason she could not sign the moratorium bill.

Despite the veto, Maine's attempt set a national template. By mid-May 2026, the moratorium wave had reached five concurrent US jurisdiction votes in a single week, including Camden County Georgia, Normal Illinois, Seattle, Denver, and Minneapolis. Good Jobs First tracks 11 active state bills and dozens of enacted local pauses.

How the World Sees Them

Tech industry

Maine itself draws little hyperscaler interest, but the LD 307 veto cycle — legislature passes, governor vetoes, override fails — is read as the path incumbents will attempt to replicate in the 11 other states with active bills.

National Democrats

Collins's break with Republicans on the Iran War Powers vote and the Cuba war-powers resolution demonstrates Maine's Senate delegation as a genuine swing factor on executive war authority in the 2026 cycle.

Data centre industry

Maine's moratorium is a warning shot. If Governor Mills signs, it becomes the first enacted statewide ban on large data centre construction in US history and a potential model for the 11 other states with active bills.

Environmental groups

Maine's moratorium reflects water use, grid load, and community impact concerns that environmental groups have been raising since the first wave of large data centre applications. State action fills the federal vacuum left by the Sanders/AOC bill's defeat.

Data centre operators

Mills's executive order substituting an Advisory Council for a moratorium is the preferred industry outcome: consultation without legally binding siting restrictions.