Maine's state legislature did something historic last week. Both chambers passed the nation's first statewide moratorium on new data center construction, a measured 18-month pause on facilities requiring more than 20 megawatts of power, designed to give the state time to examine the real impacts of large-scale AI infrastructure on Maine's energy supply, communities, and economy. It was a bipartisan act of democratic governance. Governor Janet Mills vetoed it on Friday.

Her stated reason was narrow and specific. She wanted a carveout for a data center project in Jay, Maine, a community still reeling from the 2023 closure of a paper mill that wiped out several hundred jobs. The Jay project would bring 800 construction jobs and 100 permanent positions. That is a legitimate concern. It deserves a legitimate response. But the right response to a single project exception is to negotiate that exception, not to veto an entire moratorium that the legislature passed on behalf of the people of Maine.

Governor Mills acknowledged in her veto statement that examining and planning for the potential impacts of large-scale data centers is necessary and important. She is right. Data centers consumed 4.4 percent of America's total energy supply in 2023. That figure is projected to rise to as much as 12 percent by 2028. The communities that host these facilities face spiking energy bills, strained infrastructure, and industrial development that arrives faster than local planning processes can absorb. Maine's legislature recognized that an 18-month pause was a reasonable, responsible way to get ahead of those impacts before they become irreversible.

Governor Mills had the opportunity to sign this bill with a negotiated exception for Jay. She attempted to secure that exception and did not succeed. But the answer to a failed negotiation is not a veto that eliminates the protection entirely. It is to return to the legislature, work with bill sponsor Rep. Melanie Sachs, and find a path that protects both the Jay community and the broader principle that Maine communities deserve a say in whether and how AI infrastructure is built in their state.

Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have already proposed a federal moratorium. New York, Oklahoma, and Georgia are considering similar state-level actions. Maine had the opportunity to lead the nation on this issue. Governor Mills should reconsider her veto, work with the legislature to craft a version that includes appropriate exceptions for projects like Jay, and sign a bill that reflects both the economic needs of communities like Jay and the broader need for democratic oversight of the AI infrastructure buildout that is reshaping American energy consumption and community life.

If she will not reconsider, the legislature must override her veto and implement the moratorium with the Jay exception built in.

Sign this petition to call on Governor Mills to reconsider her veto and work with the legislature to pass a data center moratorium that includes appropriate exceptions for projects like Jay, demand the Maine legislature pursue a veto override if the governor will not reconsider, and affirm that Maine communities deserve democratic oversight of large-scale AI infrastructure construction before its impacts become irreversible.