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AI Laws in Maine
As of 2026-08-12, AI Laws USA tracks 16 AI rules in Maine: 10 state-level rules and 6 county or city rules. Federal AI protections apply statewide on top of these — see the federal page. Each entry links to its official source.
Maine state-level AI rules (10)
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In effect
Maine mental-health AI limits (2026)
Maine · Effective 2026-07-29 · Maine LD 2082 / HP 1397 (P.L. 2026, Ch. 687, 132nd Leg.); signed April 13, 2026; eff. July 29, 2026
Maine enacted LD 2082 (signed April 13, 2026 by Governor Janet Mills; effective July 29, 2026) limiting how licensed mental health professionals can use AI: only for administrative and limited supplementary tasks. AI may not make therapeutic communications, treatment decisions, or independently interact with patients. Professionals must get patient consent before using ambient-listening or other AI-powered recording tools.
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In effect
Maine LD 61 (employer surveillance disclosure & prohibition)
Maine · Effective 2026-07-14 · Maine P.L. 2025, Ch. 524 (LD 61 / H.P. 25), 26 M.R.S. § 620-A, effective July 14, 2026
Maine's LD 61 (P.L. 2025, Ch. 524) requires employers to notify employees before any surveillance begins and to disclose surveillance practices to job applicants during interviews. Employers must provide annual written notice to all current employees describing what is monitored, how, and why. Employees may refuse installation of monitoring software on their personal devices. The law prohibits audiovisual monitoring in an employee's home, personal vehicle, or personal property. Civil fines of $100–$500 apply per violation. The law covers all public and private employers in Maine. Effective July 14, 2026.
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In effect
An Order Establishing the Maine Artificial Intelligence Task
Maine · Effective 2024-12-20 · An Order Establishing the Maine Artificial Intelligence Task Force
Governor Janet Mills' executive order creates a 21-member Maine Artificial Intelligence Task Force to study AI's implications for the state, protect residents from harmful AI uses, and identify opportunities for public-sector AI deployment, with a final report due to the Governor and Legislature by October 31, 2025.
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In effect
ME LD 1585 (FR limitation)
ME · Effective 2021-10-01 · P.L. 2021 ch. 394 (Me. LD 1585)
Maine LD 1585 is the strictest U.S. state law on government face surveillance — limits use to serious crime investigation via state agency conduit, with logging and a private right of action.
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In effect
Maine AI-in-Therapy Law (licensed pros only)
Maine · Effective 2026-07-28 · P.L. 2026, ch. 687 (L.D. 2082 / H.P. 1397); 10 M.R.S. Sec. 1500-EE
Maine bars anyone from providing, advertising, or offering therapy or psychotherapy to the public — including through internet-based AI — unless the services are delivered by a licensed professional. Licensed professionals may use AI only for administrative or supplementary support, and only if they retain full responsibility for its outputs; using AI for supplementary support requires written client notice and consent. AI may not make independent therapeutic decisions, engage in therapeutic communication with clients, or generate treatment plans without the licensee's review and approval.
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In effect
GenAI Tools and Acceptable Use Policy
Maine · Effective 2026-03-06 · GenAI Tools and Acceptable Use Policy
The Maine Office of Information Technology's generative AI policy (superseding the earlier GenAI moratorium) guides responsible use of GenAI on state IT infrastructure, requiring compliance with data classification standards, prohibiting confidential data inputs to public AI systems, and holding users accountable for AI outputs.
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In effect
ME AI Private Images Law
Maine · Effective 2025-09-24 · Me. LD 1944 / HP 1303 (132nd Leg., 1st Spec. Sess.); P.L. 2025, ch. 400; 17-A M.R.S. § 511-A
Maine expanded its unauthorized-private-images ("revenge porn") crime to explicitly cover artificially generated/AI-made intimate images of real people, and lets people seek protection-from-abuse or harassment orders when someone threatens to release such images. Unauthorized dissemination is a Class D crime (up to one year, $2,000).
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In effect
Maine AI Chatbot Disclosure Law
Maine · Effective 2025-09-16 · 10 M.R.S. ch. 239, Sec. 1500-Y (reallocated to Sec. 1500-DD); P.L. 2025, ch. 294 (L.D. 1727)
Maine prohibits businesses from using an AI chatbot or other computer technology in commercial dealings with a consumer in a way that could mislead a reasonable person into thinking they are interacting with a human, unless the consumer is clearly and conspicuously told they are not. A violation is treated as a violation of the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act.
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Vetoed
Maine Data Center Moratorium (vetoed)
Maine · Me. LD 307 (132nd Leg.); passed ~Apr. 14, 2026; vetoed Apr. 24, 2026
Maine's legislature became the first in the nation to pass a statewide data center moratorium — a pause on data centers over 20 megawatts until November 2027 — but Gov. Janet Mills vetoed it on April 24, 2026. She said she supports a temporary moratorium but wanted an exemption for development already underway at the former Androscoggin Mill site in the town of Jay. So there is no statewide Maine data center moratorium; local moratoriums (e.g., Bangor) still apply.
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Vetoed
ME LD 307 (vetoed)
ME · Me. LD 307 (2026) — vetoed Apr. 24, 2026
Maine LD 307 would have imposed a moratorium on municipal and state permitting of data centers with a load of 20 megawatts or more until November 1, 2027. Governor Mills vetoed it on April 24, 2026, stating she would have signed the bill if it had included an exemption for a specific data center project in Jay, ME — not federal preemption concerns as previously stated.
County and city AI rules in Maine (6)
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In effect
Portland (Maine) Facial Surveillance Ban
Portland, ME · Portland, Me., facial surveillance ban (Aug. 2020), as amended by Question B (Nov. 2020)
Portland, Maine's City Council banned city employees, including police, from using facial surveillance in August 2020, and voters strengthened the ban that November by passing Question B, which lets people sue the city for violations. Because it was enacted by referendum, the council could not amend it for five years. Remains in effect as of June 2026.
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In effect
Scarborough Data Center Moratorium
Scarborough, ME · Effective 2026-06-03 · Town of Scarborough, Me., data center moratorium (June 3, 2026)
On June 3, 2026 the Scarborough Town Council unanimously approved a 180-day moratorium on data center development, effective immediately and applying retroactively to applications submitted on or after April 1, 2026. The pause — prompted by a proposed 52-acre data center and concerns about water use and wildlife — gives the town time to amend its zoning ordinance.
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In effect
Brunswick Data Center Moratorium
Brunswick, ME · Effective 2026-06-01 · Town of Brunswick, Me., data center moratorium (June 1, 2026)
On June 1, 2026 the Brunswick Town Council unanimously approved a 180-day moratorium on large-scale data centers. During the pause the town will not process applications for new or expanded data centers with electrical capacity of 1 megawatt or greater, while it drafts regulations.
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In effect
Bangor Data Center Moratorium
Bangor, ME · Effective 2026-04-13 · Bangor, Me., 180-day data center moratorium (adopted Apr. 13, 2026)
Bangor's City Council voted 9-0 on April 13, 2026 for a 180-day moratorium on data center development, saying the city is 'suddenly experiencing increased development pressure from data centers' and needs time to study impacts on water and electricity and to amend its Land Development Code before approving any.
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In effect
Portland Municipal Facial Recognition Ban (implicating the P
Portland, ME · Effective 2020-08-04 · Portland Municipal Facial Recognition Ban (implicating the Portland Jetport and ocean port)
Portland barred city use of facial recognition after debate over the city-run Jetport and ocean port, though the ban does not reach federal CBP use required for international-flight processing.
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Proposed / pending
91-day pause on data center development
Sanford, ME · 91-day pause on data center development
The Sanford City Council voted to institute a 91-day pause on data center development, stalling a proposed 1,000-acre project and creating a task force to recommend municipal regulations.
Maine city guides
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