Utilities take on Montana over size of its coal tax

Midwest utility companies, casting Montana in the role of a Mideast oil power , want to bring the state to trial and force it to lower its high coal tax. Montana, in a countercharge, says the utilities are interfering in states' rights.The litigation before the Montana Supreme Court pits the state against 14 utilities and coal companies that strip Montana's high-energy, clean burning coal from the prairies.