Montana HB 263 Digital Asset Mining and Data Center Ratemaking Proposal

HB 263 was introduced in the Montana House during the 69th Legislature’s 2025 regular session by Rep. Katie Sullivan. The proposal was referred to the House Energy, Technology and Federal Relations Committee, received a hearing, and was tabled in committee on Feb. 3, 2025. It missed the general bill transmittal deadline on March 12 and died in process on May 20.

Because the bill failed, the proposed reporting requirement and delayed effective date did not take effect. The current Montana digital asset mining ratemaking statute remains MCA § 69-3-332, which states that the Public Service Commission may not establish a rate classification for digital asset mining, digital asset mining businesses, or home digital asset mining that creates unduly discriminatory rates.

HB 263 would have changed the heading of § 69-3-332 to “Digital asset mining and data center ratemaking — reporting requirement.” The proposed amendment would have required any data center or digital mining business operating in Montana, excluding home digital asset mining, to submit annual electricity-use information by March 1.

The reports would have gone to two state bodies: the Montana Public Service Commission and the Energy and Telecommunications Interim Committee. Covered entities would have reported total megawatt-hours of electricity consumed in the previous calendar year and anticipated megawatt-hours needed for the current calendar year.

The proposal incorporated existing definitions in § 69-3-332. “Digital asset mining” is defined in current Montana law as using electricity to power a computer for the purpose of securing a blockchain network. A “digital asset mining business” is a group of computers at a single site consuming more than 1 megawatt of energy on an average annual basis for the purpose of generating digital assets by securing a blockchain network.

HB 263 also used the current statutory definition of “data center,” which covers a building or premises mainly occupied by computers, telecommunications, or related equipment, including supporting equipment, where information is processed, transferred, and stored. The reporting proposal expressly excluded home digital asset mining, which current law describes as residential mining that consumes less than 1 megawatt on an average annual basis.

HB 263 would have operated within Montana’s broader digital asset mining framework adopted in 2023. That framework includes the ratemaking provision in § 69-3-332 and a separate zoning provision, MCA § 76-2-1003, limiting local restrictions on digital asset mining businesses and home digital asset mining.

The failed 2025 proposal did not repeal Montana’s existing mining protections. Instead, it would have added an electricity-demand reporting layer for larger compute facilities while preserving the statutory language against unduly discriminatory digital asset mining rate classifications. Editors should note a drafting ambiguity: the reporting subsection uses the phrase “digital mining business,” while the definitions section uses “digital asset mining business.”

HB 263 is relevant for tracking state-level crypto mining policy because it shows how lawmakers may combine digital asset mining law with large-load utility oversight and data center energy disclosure. The bill’s failure means it is a historical proposal rather than an operative compliance regime. Any future Montana proposal should be reviewed separately against its own introduced text, committee actions, and enacted status.