Montana Supreme Court allows Butte data center initiative to proceed

The Montana Supreme Court granted an injunction allowing the Butte-Silver Bow data center initiative to move forward while an appeal over its eligibility for the November ballot is pending. The court prohibited Butte-Silver Bow and Election Administrator Cynthia Sherman from denying certification because the signatures were submitted after a statutory deadline. This ruling overturned a lower court decision that had previously prevented the initiative from appearing on the ballot.

The initiative, Local Initiative 00-02, would require approval from two-thirds of registered voters in a special election before Butte-Silver Bow could authorize construction or expansion of a data center. The court's decision allows the local policy initiative to proceed toward a vote.