Second, the Economic Update covered Montana's growth, which ranked 15th in the nation last year, as well as wage growth that continues to outpace the national average. These are the indicators that tell us whether Montana families are gaining ground or losing it, and I'll be paying close attention to what the data says about the year ahead.
Thursday — Modernization and Risk Analysis Committee
Thursday, I'm in the Modernization and Risk Analysis Committee. We're tackling two issues that are quickly moving to the front of the line for Montana: artificial intelligence and wildfire risk.
On AI, we'll hear from the National Conference of State Legislatures on how states are responding to the rapid growth of AI data centers and how AI is changing higher education. Then, experts from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Elevate Energy Consulting will walk us through what these large new data center loads mean for the bulk power system. These are massive new electricity demands that can affect reliability and rates for every Montana household and business, and we need to think carefully about how Montana protects ratepayers and the grid as this growth continues.
On wildfire, we'll hear from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners on how wildfire risk is reshaping insurance markets across the West, and our Legislative Fiscal Division staff will brief us on updates to Montana's wildfire model. With another fire season approaching, this work matters directly for Carbon County families and landowners.
The Bottom Line
These are the kinds of meetings that don't generate headlines, but they're where the real work of state government happens. I'll have a more detailed update for you in next week's column once we've heard all the presentations and worked through the committee discussions. In the meantime, if you have questions or thoughts about any of these issues or anything else going on in Helena, I want to hear from you.
