This is the fourth and final CURE Legislative update of the 2025 Session. Check out our previous updates here: Keeping it Real and Rural; CURE’s Cliff Notes; and The Show Must Go On.
Just before 2:00 am on Tuesday, June 9th, the Minnesota legislature wrapped up special session, passing all the necessary (and a few nonessential) bills to avoid a government shutdown. For the most part, this year was marked by uneasy power-sharing, and lots of behind-the-scenes negotiations about final bills. Read on to see how CURE’s top priorities fared in the end.
⚡️ Minnesota’s 100% Carbon-Free Energy Law: Protected!
This year saw countless attempts by members of both parties to weaken the law by exempting certain utilities from compliance, allowing for automatic delays of the benchmarks, and industry-specific exemptions to the definition of “carbon free.” In the end, none of these detrimental policies passed.
But CURE’s work on the implementation of the 100% Carbon-Free Standard isn’t finished! We are still actively engaged in dockets before the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) that ask whether carbon-emitting energy generation like biomass combustion and natural gas with carbon capture meet the definition of “carbon free.” We will continue our work at the PUC and at the legislature next year to ensure that the 100% Carbon-Free Standard is implemented as originally intended—to rapidly shift our utilities towards carbon-free—not “low carbon” or “clean”—energy. Stay in the know/keep an eye out for our forthcoming webinar on biomass.
♻️ Electronic Waste Recycling: Stalled out.
Despite a promising start and bipartisan support, significant industry pressure towards the end of the regular session meant that the E-waste bill did not pass. We are disappointed by this result, as it’s becoming increasingly clear that we need to address the issue of electronic waste, especially for those living in rural parts of the state. As those folks know well, our communities often host landfills, which come with their own human and environmental health impacts. But electronic waste presents a uniquely difficult and, at times, dangerous situation—lithium battery fires, for example. Access to quality recycling programs is also limited in rural areas, meaning that even when folks want to be part of the solution, they often have no way to participate.
CURE will continue working with our allies in the Zero Waste Coalition to get this important policy on the books.
🌲💧 Protecting Public Lands and Waters: Maintained the Status Quo.
While bills mitigating the impact of off-highway vehicles (OHV) and new OHV trails did not make it through the necessary committees, CURE looks forward to continuing our support next year. Additionally, attempts to roll back the essential public waters inventory definition change the legislature passed in 2024 proved unsuccessful.
🌱 Environmental Review: Less is worse.
One of the most concerning things that passed in the Environment Omnibus was a package of new “permitting reforms.” Although the legislature just passed a batch of permitting reform-focused laws last year, and despite the vast majority of MPCA permitting decisions on priority projects meeting statutory timelines, some legislators believed that more “reform” was necessary.
One of the items on the chopping block? Minnesotans’ ability to petition for environmental review of projects with the potential for significant environmental and human health impacts. Historically, a petition for an environmental assessment worksheet (EAW) required at least 100 people who reside or own property anywhere in Minnesota to make the petition. To protect against frivolous attempts to delay a project, the responsible government unit has the final say as to whether an EAW is necessary.
Now, only those living or owning property in the same county or a county adjacent to a project can petition for an EAW. This might not sound like a big deal on its face, but our air and water do not recognize county lines. Downstream impacts are real and can impact those communities in counties far beyond the site of a specific project. Removing the ability of those who may be affected by a project goes against the fundamental beliefs underlying our environmental laws: that all Minnesotans, regardless of where they live, have a vested interest in the health of our natural resources.
🏢 Data Centers: Tax Breaks Extended, Minnesota Communities and Resources Left Vulnerable.
Heading into session, there was some buzz around data centers, but it quickly became clear that this issue was much larger. Big tech—Google, Amazon, Meta, and their lobbying groups—had at least 30 registered lobbyists working the halls of the legislature this year. Despite strong opposition to extending sales tax exemptions and genuine concerns about the water and electricity needs of hyperscale data centers, legislative leaders, state agencies, and the Governor continued to negotiate with developers and reached a final agreement—the stand-alone data center policy bill. Importantly, because this moved as a separate bill, it did not need to pass this year. There were no budgetary elements to it that would have caused a government shutdown. Ultimately, the final bill:
- Repeals the existing sales tax exemption for electricity purchased by data centers
- Extends remaining sales tax exemptions on software and equipment from 2042 to as late as 2077.
- Establishes an optional clean energy tariff for data centers to purchase some or all of their electricity from “clean energy” resources. Clean energy is not defined in the bill.
- Directs the Public Utilities Commission to establish a “very large customer” rate class and states that utilities cannot use additional demand from data centers as a reason to delay compliance with the 100% Carbon-Free Standard.
- Establishes an annual electricity fee, in place of compliance with Minnesota’s Energy Conservation Optimization Act, for data centers. The fee is based on the data center’s peak demand, and ranges from $2,000,000 to $5,000,000 per year. Fees collected will go towards low-income weatherization and energy conservation programs in the state. However, information collected in association with these fees is nonpublic data.
- Includes no mandatory protections for water use and does not require data centers to use any water conservation technologies.
- Provides no protections for host communities in terms of siting, noise, or light pollution.
- Does not guarantee adequate environmental review of hyperscale data centers (i.e., in the form of an Environmental Impact Statement).
While some of the energy provisions are a good first step, there’s a lot more work to do.
CURE will continue to work with those who showed up time and time again this session to ask for adequate environmental and community protections and increased transparency when it comes to data center development.
☀️ Net Metering: Protected!
After hearing from countless Minnesotans about the benefits of net metering, and much deliberation, the legislature left the existing net metering system unchanged. Although CURE recognizes the desire to improve the existing net metering system, we think this was the right decision. Uncertainty about the future of net metering makes it difficult for both electricity providers and consumers plan for the long-term, and waning federal support for rooftop solar only adds to this instability. Now is not the time to throw out these kinds of essential state-level programs.
CURE will continue to advocate for a study to identify specific concerns raised by stakeholders, collect necessary information about those issues, and analyze potential solutions. We look forward to working with interested organizations over the next several months on crafting a long-term, equitable solution.
✈️ Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF): No New Policy, No New Funding.
No major changes in policy or funding were passed this year. CURE remains concerned that discussions about SAF have not adequately addressed the potential impacts of its production—both good and bad—on our environment and communities. This is especially true in light of recent statements made by the president of Gevo, that the company is willing to sell CO2 from its biofuel plants to the oil industry for use in enhanced oil recovery operations. These kinds of details about the implementation of a new technology matter.
By Sarah Mooradian, Government Relations & Policy Director
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