Scope
Maine Public Law 2026, chapter 768 (L.D. 713) amends 36 MRSA section 691 so that the Business Equipment Tax Exemption does not cover any property located in a data center, or the portion of a facility that constitutes a data center, that begins operations on or after 1 August 2026, including property in a data center that is part of an expansion or project after that date; it defines data center; it excludes services performed at a data center from the Dirigo Business Incentives Program definitions; and it requires the Department of Economic and Community Development to report on a study of data center financial incentives by 4 November 2026.
- Geographic scope
- Maine
- Jurisdiction
- State
- Authority type
- Legislature
- Issuing authority
- Maine Legislature
Dates
- Adopted
- 23 April 2026
- Effective
- 29 July 2026
- Scheduled expiration
- See completion condition
- Ended
- Not recorded as ended
- Completion condition
- The chapter states no expiration. 4 November 2026 is a study report deadline, not an end date.
- Source document
- 23 April 2026
- Last checked
- 23 September 2026 (earlier than tracker date 5 October 2026; not an automatic status change)
Summary
Maine Public Law 2026, chapter 768, approved by the Governor on 23 April 2026, excludes property in data centers that begin operations on or after 1 August 2026, including later expansions, from the Business Equipment Tax Exemption and removes data center services from the Dirigo Business Incentives Program. It also orders the Department of Economic and Community Development to study data center incentives and report by 4 November 2026. As a non-emergency law of the Second Regular Session it took effect on 29 July 2026, the general effective date the Legislature published.
What this does not establish
- The chapter prints no effective date and has no emergency clause; 29 July 2026 is the general effective date for non-emergency laws of the session published on the Legislature's home page.
- The codified statute page for 36 MRSA section 691 (data extracted 20 October 2025) does not yet show the 2026 amendment.
- The exclusion applies to data centers that begin operations on or after 1 August 2026; it does not remove exemptions already applying to earlier data centers.
Unresolved questions
- Whether the Department of Economic and Community Development has submitted its study report was not checked.
Relationships
Supersession means a later instrument replaces the earlier legal effect. Repeal links identify the repeal instrument and the measure it ends. A later implementation or related letter is not treated as a replacement unless the record says so.
- No related action is recorded.
Sources
https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=HP0452&item=5&snum=132