Treasure State Resources Association

04/27/2026

Montana Supreme Court upholds housing reform laws

The Montana Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a slate of pro-construction housing laws that were proposed by a housing task force established by Gov. Greg Gianforte and enacted by the Legislature in 2023. Justice Beth Baker authored the 34-page opinion, which was unanimous among the court’s seven justices.

In a press release Tuesday evening, Gianforte called the court’s finding “a landmark victory.” “By upholding the constitutionality of our reforms, it will help bring the American dream into greater reach for Montanans across our state,” he said.

In 2023, a bipartisan group of state lawmakers passed several laws that make it easier to build new homes, especially higher-density development inside larger cities. Months later, a Bozeman-based group of homeowners, called “Montanans Against Irresponsible Densification,” sued the state, alleging that the housing laws violated Montana’s Constitution.

-Senate Bill 382 created the Montana Land Use Planning Act, which requires municipalities of 5,000 residents or more in the state’s urban counties to plan for the housing they need to accommodate population growth. It also focuses resident input on high-level planning discussions, making it harder for “not in my backyard”-style opposition to derail projects.

-Senate Bill 245, which forces cities of 5,000 residents or more to allow apartment-style housing in most areas set aside as commercial zones.

-Senate Bill 323, which requires cities with 5,000 residents or more to allow duplex housing on any home lot.

-Senate Bill 528, which requires cities to adopt regulations allowing more construction of accessory dwelling units, or secondary housing structures that share parcels with larger homes. In district court, Montanans Against Irresponsible Densification, or MAID, argued the laws would force people to live in more densely populated areas with larger buildings and more traffic. They alleged the laws represented state overreach in development and planning, which is typically under local government control. They also argued that some neighborhoods would be disproportionately affected by the laws, and that the reforms violated the state constitution’s right to participate in government.

In district court, Montanans Against Irresponsible Densification, or MAID, argued the laws would force people to live in more densely populated areas with larger buildings and more traffic. They alleged the laws represented state overreach in development and planning, which is typically under local government control. They also argued that some neighborhoods would be disproportionately affected by the laws, and that the reforms violated the state constitution’s right to participate in government.

To read the full article, please click: https://montanafreepress.org/2026/03/18/montana-supreme-court-upholds-housing-reform-laws/

-Nora Mabie, Montana Free Press, 3/18/26

In a press release Tuesday evening, Gov. Greg Gianforte called the court’s finding “a landmark victory.”

04/24/2026

Keystone-like pipeline through Montana moves forward

A proposal to build a 36-inch diameter pipeline to move Canadian oil to refineries and markets in the U.S. with notable similarities to the contentious Keystone XL pipeline has officially landed before state and federal agencies.

The Bureau of Land Management has opened public comment on the Bridger Pipeline, which would traverse nine counties in Montana to allow a Canadian oil producer to transport about 550,000 barrels of Canadian oil per day into “multiple U.S. delivery points.” The preferred route stretches from north of Malta to an intersection with an existing terminal in Guernsey, Wyoming. It would follow existing pipelines through much of that stretch.

In planning documents, the Bureau of Land Management describes the Bridger Pipeline as creating a “significant and meaningful investment in the U.S. energy economy.” The agency, which administers land along some sections of the pipeline’s projected route through Montana and Wyoming, aligns with President Trump’s January 2025 executive order directing federal agencies to streamline permitting for energy projects.

But environmental groups warn that the proposal is suspiciously similar to the Keystone XL project that garnered more than a decade of intense pushback from tribes wary of the potential for water contamination and climate groups opposed to the greenhouse gas emissions associated with excavating and burning tar sand oil. Keystone XL would have cut across tribal land and water supplies to facilitate the movement of approximately 830,000 gallons of tar sands oil per day.

To read the full article, please click: https://montanafreepress.org/2026/04/04/keystone-like-pipeline-through-montana-moves-forward/

-Amanda Eggert, 4/4/26

PLUS: Supreme Court thwarts governor on property tax lawsuit.

04/23/2026

Court rejects challenge to Montana ballot measure to curb corporate spending in elections

A legal challenge by industry groups to intercept a ballot initiative intended to curb corporate spending in state elections was denied this week by the Montana Supreme Court.

In a 7-0 decision, the court denied a petition from a coalition that includes the Montana Mining Association, Montana Chamber of Commerce and others, ruling that striking down the proposal — identified as Ballot Measure No. 10 — would be premature.

"Here, as Ballot Measure No. 10 has not even qualified for the ballot, opining on the substantive constitutional issues would be unquestionably advisory," Justice Beth Baker wrote in the opinion. "This court does not issue advisory opinions."

The groups challenging the measure argued it set out to violate the free speech rights extended to corporations in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case called Citizens United. If businesses ran afoul of the proposed law, they would lose their ability to operate in Montana.

The ballot measure is being run by Transparent Election Initiative, led by former Montana Commissioner of Political Practices Jeff Mangan.

"We’re grateful for the Montana Supreme Court’s swift and unanimous decision, which reaffirms the right of Montanans to participate in the initiative process and have their voices heard," Mangan said in a statement Wednesday. "Our focus can now return to what this effort has always been about: collecting signatures from Libby to Sidney and continuing to build a grassroots movement led by everyday Montanans."

The Montana Mining Association (MMA) was lead plaintiff in the petition filed with the Supreme Court last month.

"While we are still reviewing the decision, our coalition will discuss the next best steps," MMA executive director Matt Vincent said in an email on Wednesday. "Rest assured that we remain committed to defending the free speech rights of our constituent members, which include small businesses and some of our state's largest local employers. Our belief is that Montana is best served when all voices are allowed to participate in the democratic process."

In Tuesday's decision, the Montana Supreme Court cited a 2018 case which the Montana Mining Association also led a lawsuit against a ballot initiative called I-186; had it been approved by voters, the state would have been required to deny all permit requests for hardrock mines that required continuous water treatment.

In that case, MMA sued the state attorney general because that office determines whether ballot initiatives are legally sufficient, and the secretary of state, whose office administers the elections process, which includes ballot initiatives. MMA followed the same route in the case decided this week.

The Supreme Court in 2018 determined, as it did this year, that MMA's arguments were outside of the scope of the attorney general's legal-sufficiency review and also beyond the court's pre-election initiative review.

"Pre-election judicial review is disfavored because the people of Montana have a right to 'change the laws of this state through the initiative process,'" is the line from the 2018 decision that justices cited Tuesday in their decision regarding Ballot Measure No. 10.

The Transparent Election Initiative, which continued gathering signatures during the brief legal challenge, needs a little more than 30,000 signers to endorse the measure by late June in order to reach the general election ballot.

-Seaborn Larson, Helena Independent Record, 4/1/26

04/22/2026

NorthWestern Energy submits large new load tariff proposal to strengthen customer safeguards and support Montana’s energy future and economic growth

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. & BUTTE, Mont., NorthWestern Corporation, a regulated energy service company operating in Montana and a subsidiary of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc., doing business as NorthWestern Energy (Nasdaq: NWE), filed an application with the Montana Public Service Commission requesting approval of a Large New Load Tariff rule to establish requirements and contract terms for providing electric service to bundled customers with new or expanded loads of 5 megawatts or greater, including data centers and other energy-intensive operations.

The filing establishes a framework governing agreements between NorthWestern Energy and large new load customers and is intended to address the costs and operational considerations associated with serving those loads while protecting existing customers from cost shifting and other adverse impacts.

"Our responsibility is to serve new opportunities in a way that protects our existing customers and strengthens Montana’s energy future," said NorthWestern Energy President and CEO Brian Bird. "This proposal reflects Montana values—fairness, accountability, and thoughtful growth—while positioning our state to compete for high-quality economic development."

NorthWestern Energy’s filing of this proposed tariff provides a forum for the Montana Public Service Commission and interested stakeholders to evaluate NorthWestern Energy’s plans to serve new large loads.

"Given the strong interest from both the Montana Public Service Commission and the public, we believe it is important to bring this issue forward now, instead of waiting until a contract with a large new load customer is in place," Bird said. "Filing this tariff now supports constructive dialogue as we all work together toward a solution that serves Montana best."

NorthWestern Energy continues to negotiate agreements with prospective large new load customers.

Customer Protections and Contract Requirements
The Large New Load Tariff includes specific requirements that must be incorporated into electric service agreements with large new load customers. These provisions include:

-Minimum service commitment periods, including longer minimum terms for customers with very large loads (50 megawatts or greater

-Minimum demand and minimum energy billing requirements to ensure these customers pay for the capacity and energy needed to serve them

-Performance assurance and collateral requirements to secure customer payment and performance obligations

-Termination cost provisions designed to address costs remaining if a customer reduces load or terminates service before the end of the contract term

These provisions are intended to ensure that customers taking large new loads are responsible for the costs associated with serving those loads and that existing customers do not subsidize these large new load customers.

-Business Wire, 4/1/26

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. & BUTTE, Mont., April 01, 2026--NorthWestern Corporation, a regulated energy service company operating in Montana and a subsidiary of NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc., doing business as NorthWestern Energy (Nasdaq: NWE), filed an application with the Montana Public Service Commissio...

04/21/2026

USDA Forest Service to move headquarters to Salt Lake City amid restructuring of the agency

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service is moving its headquarters to Salt Lake City as part of a sweeping restructuring of the agency, according to a press release from the agency on Tuesday.

The agency said the move is designed to bring leadership closer to the forests and communities it serves.

"President Trump has made it a priority to return common sense to the way our government works. Moving the Forest Service closer to the forests we manage is an essential action that will improve our core mission of managing our forests while saving taxpayer dollars and boosting employee recruitment," Secretary Brooke L. Rollins said in the press release.

The Forest Service will transition to a state-based organizational model. Under the new model, 15 state directors will be distributed throughout the country to oversee operations within one or more states.

State directors will serve as national leaders with primary oversight of forest supervisors, operational priorities, and relationships with states, tribes, and other partners. Each state office will include a small leadership support team responsible for legislative affairs, communications, and intergovernmental coordination.

The agency said this approach is intended to simplify the chain of command, strengthen local partnerships, and give field leaders greater ability to respond to conditions on the ground.

“This is about building a Forest Service that is nimble, efficient, effective and closer to the forests and communities it serves," Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said in the press release.

"This is a big win for Utah and the West. Nearly 90% of Forest Service lands are west of the Mississippi, so putting leadership closer to the lands they manage just makes sense," said Utah Governor Spencer Cox said as part of the press release.

As part of the transition, all regional offices will close. The Forest Service will shift many functions currently housed in regional offices to a network of operational service centers in the following locations:
- Albuquerque, NM
- Athens, GA
- Fort Collins, CO
- Madison, WI
- Missoula, MT
- Placerville, CA

The USDA said locations were selected based on existing workforce and infrastructure presence,
operational needs, and proximity to agricultural and natural resource stakeholders.

The restructuring will also drive a review and consolidation of facilities nationwide. Several facilities will be retained to support ongoing mission needs, including a state office in Juneau, Alaska; a national training center in Vallejo, California; and a business support service center and state office in Albuquerque.

The Forest Service said it will also consolidate leadership of its research enterprise. Multiple geographically dispersed research stations will be brought together under a single research organization located in Fort Collins. They said the changes are designed to unify research priorities, accelerate the application of science to management decisions, and reduce administrative duplication.

“Colorado is known for our outdoor spaces and nation-leading research institutions that are strengthening our forests and public lands, so it only makes sense that the U.S. Forest Service would include a location in our great state," said Colorado Governor Jared Polis said in the press release.

The agency’s Fire and Aviation Management program will retain its existing Geographic Area Coordination Center structure. The program will continue reporting to the Deputy Chief for Fire and Aviation Management at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.

The agency said there will be no interruption or change to field-based operational firefighters or their positions. This structure will remain in place until the Forest Service’s wildland fire management operations are unified into the U.S. Wildland Fire Service within the Department of the Interior.

The Forest Service will provide employees and partners with detailed transition guidance as different milestones approach. Throughout the transition, the agency said frontline operations, including active forest management, wildfire response, forest restoration, recreation management, and partnerships, will continue uninterrupted.

-Kylie Strandberg, KPAX, 3/31/26

04/20/2026

Interim Energy and Technology Committee consider bills for 2027 session regarding PSC restructuring, solar, and railroads

At the ETIC meeting held on March 26th, the committee reviewed draft legislation in preparation for the next legislative session. The committee took no action on any of the bills and it is expected that the drafts will continue to be worked on. Typically, interim committees take action on bills in the fall, though they may take action at any meeting.

Representative Carter and Senator Lammers brought a bill draft that would restructure the Public Service Commission. Instead of citizens voting for commissioners, the legislators propose to construct a nominating committee (made up of legislators, representatives from the Department of Commerce and the Department of Energy, and a tribal representative) that would suggest individuals to be appointed by the Governor, who are then confirmed by the state senate with a two thirds vote. The legislators proposing this draft argue that appointed commissioners receive better credit ratings than elected, and that the commissioners will be better educated and more professional than elected officials. For a deeper read into this proposal, please go to https://www.kxlh.com/news/montana-politics/montana-lawmakers-propose-switching-public-service-commission-from-elected-to-appointed

Additionally, the committee considered a bill draft to revise the statutes regarding the Colstrip water mitigation infrastructure account (now proposed to be called the Municipal water infrastructure coal transition account as using a town name in the title is not constitutional). While this bill was vetoed by the Governor, it was then overridden by the Legislature. This draft cleans up language from the recently passed law and clarifies the process of what organizations may use the account, how they may access funds, and what the funds may be used for. To watch the discussion on the bill, please go to: https://sg001-harmony.sliq.net/00309/Harmony/en/PowerBrowser/PowerBrowserV2/20260326/-1/57472?startposition=20260326163127&mediaEndTime=20260326165019&viewMode=3&globalStreamId=4

Senator Pope has been working on a draft to revise solar energy laws that would allow small solar power plants to be connected to the greater utility grid to power, for example “a pivot line for a sprinkler, a small business, a residence.” The power could be generated and sold back to the
same producer or to another consumer. A similar bill was passed in 2025 but was vetoed by the executive branch and a veto-override failed.

Lastly, the committee considered several versions of a bill concerning the ability of utilities to cross or place infrastructure within a railroad’s right of way.

On a lighter note, the committee heard from Dr. Michael P. Masters of Montana Technological University as he shared his “Extratempestrial Model” with legislators. In brief, the model posits that aliens are time-traveling descendants of humans. If you would like to learn more, please click:
https://sg001-harmony.sliq.net/00309/Harmony/en/PowerBrowser/PowerBrowserV2/20260326/-1/57472?startposition=20260326150228&mediaEndTime=20260326155837&viewMode=3&globalStreamId=4

To watch the meeting in its entirety, please click: https://sg001-harmony.sliq.net/00309/Harmony/en/PowerBrowser/PowerBrowserV2/20260326/-1/57472

To view the bill drafts and study topics, please click: https://committees.legmt.gov/ #/nonStandingCommittees/11?tab=Meeting+Materials

Explore, track, and stay informed on committee activity in Montana with the Montana Legislature Committee Explorer application. Access detailed information, monitor committee progress, and engage with the legislative process easily from your desktop or mobile device.

02/24/2026

As AI investors eye Montana for new data centers, communities brace for water impacts

While Montana might not be viewed as an artificial intelligence hotbed, it is considered among the top states in the country with potential to “power the AI revolution.” An analysis CNBC published last July based on grid reliability and average market electricity price named Montana as the No. 3 state in the country for its potential to power data centers. Despite that, only a handful of relatively small data centers have been built in the Treasure State, and several operations have come and gone.

But the state of play could change — quickly — as proposals for new data centers garner traction in energy, economic development and political circles. Big Tech’s race to deploy AI, which the Brookings Institute has described as “the transformative technology of our time,” is spurring a corresponding rush to build data centers, massive warehouse-like buildings filled with stacks of chip-laden servers that have been likened to the “backbone” supporting AI.

The push for infrastructure to support the technology is also on display in Montana, as data center developers and energy executives work to capture a piece of a rapidly growing market. Preliminary agreements that NorthWestern Energy, Montana’s largest utility, has signed with three companies in the past 14 months have given Montanans a general idea of how much electricity these large new data centers would require, but information about their water usage is in short supply. Wary of project developers’ tight-lipped approach to discussing their proposals, environmental watchdogs warn that a hands-off strategy could turn Montana communities into “sacrifice zones” to serve the data-processing needs of some of the world’s largest companies.

Data center experts that Montana Free Press interviewed in recent weeks said the lack of transparency could be by design. Project developers have been hustling to secure hundreds of millions, or even billions, of financing dollars before local pushback and potential regulatory changes spook investors in a competitive market that some industry insiders have described as a “global arms race.”

Aaron Wemhoff, a mechanical engineer who studies data centers’ environmental impacts as part of a consortium focused on energy-efficient electronic systems, told MTFP that center developers are running up against a power supply bottleneck and opposition from nearby residents wary of environmental impacts.

“I think that is what is setting the pace of development,” Wemhoff said. “What you’re seeing is that a lot of data centers are now being built in rural locations [where] there’s a little bit less resistance and perhaps they’re getting friendlier governments.”

Whether they’re inclined to support or oppose them, many Montanans are hungry for more information, and data-center developers have been reluctant to provide it. Montana Environmental Information Center Executive Director Anne Hedges told MTFP that these companies might be looking for “easy pickings” in Montana, but residents of Butte, Billings, Broadview and Great Falls have shown an “overwhelming interest” in the topic at educational events MEIC has co-hosted. Hedges said public engagement with this issue is like nothing else she’s encountered in the 32 years she’s worked for MEIC, an environmental nonprofit that also serves as a corporate watchdog.

“We’ve had to turn people away in a room that holds hundreds,” Hedges said, referring to last month’s talk in Billings, which turned into a standing-room-only event. “It’s fascinating from an academic perspective, but certainly from the perspective of somebody who wants to get regulations in place to protect Montanans from what the richest men in America want to do.”

MEIC is concerned that NorthWestern Energy’s existing customers’ electricity bills will rise to fund power plants, substations and transmission lines to serve new data centers that might shutter in a few years’ time. Running parallel to that issue is uncertainty about what data-center development means for the rivers, lakes and aquifers that support two of the top industries in this arid state — agriculture and outdoor recreation.

Although all data centers that process large volumes of information require a cooling system, there are a variety of ways to run them. Wemhoff said there is a tradeoff involved: evaporative cooling systems require more water but less electricity. “Closed loop” or “open-air” systems typically use less water but are less efficient in that they require more electricity.

“To me, the true water footprint is the water that’s consumed on site, but you also should include the water that’s consumed in the process of generating the electricity that the data center is consuming,” Wemhoff said. Fossil fuel plants often consume significant quantities of water, contributing to a larger water-use footprint, he added.

Montanans still don’t have a fulsome accounting of these new proposals’ water impacts, but some information has been in circulation as companies like Quantica and Sabey approach their projected operational dates. This is what we know as of early February.

To read more about the data center projects, please visit: https://montanafreepress.org/2026/02/12/as-ai-investors-eye-montana-for-new-data-centers-communities-brace-for-water-impacts/

- Amanda Eggert, Montana Free Press, 2/12/2026

Massive data centers could more than double Montana’s electricity needs. Here’s what we know about how three are expected to impact local water supplies.

02/23/2026

Montana ranchers push for mandatory beef labeling as imported meat increases

North Central Montana -- As changes to U.S. meat labeling rules took effect earlier this year, some Montana ranchers hoped new “Product of USA” regulations would help clarify the origin of beef sold in grocery stores. But with an increase in imported lean beef trimmings being blended into ground beef products, producers say the need for transparency has become even more urgent.

In January, updated “Product of USA” labeling rules went into effect that allow beef processors to use that designation under certain conditions.

Now, some producers across Montana are adding their voices to a renewed push for mandatory country-of-origin labeling, arguing that voluntary or conditional labeling doesn’t go far enough to ensure traceability in a changing market. In January, members of the Montana Country-of-Origin Labeling Coalition held a press conference in Billings calling on Congress to reinstate mandatory COOL and restore “fair and transparent markets” for producers and consumers alike.

Mandatory COOL was repealed in 2015 after the World Trade Organization ruled that it discriminated against Canada and Mexico's livestock exports. Since then, beef labeling has been largely voluntary, leaving no federal requirement to disclose where cattle were born or raised.

At the heart of the debate is the question of how consumers can know where the beef they buy was raised and processed. With more imported beef entering the U.S. market, producers say the current labeling framework allows ground beef products to mix domestic and foreign beef without clear identification.

The western district director of the Montana Cattlemen’s Association and a producer out of Fairfield, Tim Brunner, has been among those emphasizing the uncertainty that creates for consumers.

“Now would be a great time to implement COOL, to prove and show people what you’re buying,” Brunner said. “The consumer’s going to pay the same price for beef, except now it may have more blended foreign beef in it, and they won’t even know.”

Proponents of mandatory labeling argue that it would give consumers confidence in what they’re purchasing and help U.S. producers distinguish their products in a competitive global market.

While the Montana Stockgrowers Association is not a part of the Montana COOL Coalition, Leslie Robinson, the president of the association, echoed that point, saying traceability isn’t just about marketing, it’s about safety and trust.

“We raise a very healthy, safe product in the United States, and traceability is important,” Robinson said. “Consumers should be able to know where their beef comes from and have confidence in the standards behind it.”

Currently, the labeling landscape includes both voluntary and conditional designations, but no nationwide requirement that beef products state their country of origin. That was the case before the repeal of M-COOL nearly a decade ago, and the coalition argues that turning back the clock on mandatory labeling could provide needed clarity as market dynamics shift.

As debates continue around beef imports, labeling standards, and trade policy, these Montana producers maintain that clearer rules will benefit both ranchers and consumers by making the supply chain more transparent from pasture to plate.

- Madison Collier, KTVH News, 2/11/26

02/21/2026

Governor’s Energy Task Force hosting series of open houses

Governor Gianforte’s Energy Task Force is hosting a series of public open houses to engage with Montanans on the biggest energy issues facing the state. The task force will host the first-ofthree open houses from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Feb. 25 at the Copper Lounge on the campus of Montana Tech University in Butte.

The task force will also host open houses in Miles City on March 25 and Colstrip on April 15.

Each of the open houses will offer attendees a chance to talk directly with members of the Energy Task Force to ask questions and give feedback on various energy topics. There will be no formal presentations. Staff will be available from state agencies to discuss their regulatory authority related to energy development. The Butte event will also have tables hosted by the local government, NorthWestern Energy, and Sabey Data Centers to address questions about energy resources and data centers in Butte and Silver Bow County.

Governor Gianforte established the Energy Task Force through executive order in September 2025. The Governor charged the task force with providing recommendations and strategies to increase the supply of affordable and reliable energy options for Montana. The bipartisan task force meets regularly and will provide recommendations in written reports to the Governor in September 2026 and January 2027.

For more information on the Energy Task Force and to provide online public comment, please go
to the ETF webpage:

On September 10, 2025, Governor Gianforte signed Executive Order No. 6-2025 creating the Governor's Energy Task Force. The Governor charged the task force with providing recommendations and strategies to increase the supply of affordable and reliable energy options for Montana. The bipartisan task f...