Maine's Democratic governor on Friday vetoed what would have been the country's first state moratorium on the construction of data centers.

The bill passed by the Democrat-controlled state legislature would have instituted a moratorium for more than a year on data centers above a certain size and created a special council to help towns vet potential projects. But Gov. Janet Mills said she vetoed the bill because it failed to include a carve out for a project in the town of Jay that would bring needed jobs to a community that has struggled since the closure of a local mill.

Proposals to impose a moratorium on data centers have been introduced in at least a dozen states, but other than Maine’s, none had even passed a legislative chamber.…