AUGUSTA — The Maine House on Wednesday sustained the veto of a bill that sought to temporarily ban data centers and would have made Maine the first state to do so.

Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat running for the U.S. Senate, issued the veto because she wanted to ensure that a data center planned for the Franklin County town of Jay could move forward. But several fellow Democrats opposed the veto.

Bill sponsor Rep. Melanie Sachs (D-Freeport) said she hoped that Maine would temporarily ban data centers so a task force could study the impacts on water quality and electricity prices.

“In Maine we have a chance to lead with foresight instead of reacting after the damage is done,” Sachs said. “We can choose a reasonable, responsible path. Pause, study and prepare. The chief executive’s veto rejects that approach.” 

The House needed two-thirds support — or 101 votes — to override the veto. The vote was 72-65.

In her veto letter, Mills said Jay spent two years working to bring a $550 million data center to the former Androscoggin Mill site. The project is estimated to generate more than 800 temporary construction jobs and about 100 permanent jobs.

“As a long-time resident of Franklin County, I know well how critical the mill was to generations of working families, and how important it is — and how challenging it has been — to promote reinvestment and job-creation at the former mill which is a brownfield site,” she wrote.

In a statement, Mills said she will sign an executive order to create a commission to study the impacts of data centers, which was part of the bill she vetoed. 

Rep. Laurel Libby (R-Auburn) said she opposed the original bill and would vote to sustain the veto. She said Democrats could have included a carveout for Jay but opted not to.

“The chief executive was clear that she would veto a bill that didn’t include the carveout for Jay,” Libby said. “There was an avenue for you guys to get this bill across the finish line and you chose not to take it.”

Over in the Senate, a separate veto of LD 1911, which would have automatically sealed certain criminal records, was also sustained.