2026 Minnesota Legislative Session Review
Minnesota Legislators just wrapped up the session, marking the end of an at-times contentious 2025-2026 biennium. Despite strong efforts from advocates, the legislature was ultimately unable to come to agreement on almost any energy and environmental proposals.
“If we don’t fight hard enough for the things we stand for, at some point we have to recognize that we don’t really stand for them.”
— Paul Wellstone
This outcome is disappointing, but it’s not the end of the fight. CURE helped lay the groundwork for what comes next, strengthened our coalition, and fostered new relationships with community groups facing proposed hyperscale data center development.
Check out our Legislative Preview and Mid-Session Review!
Here’s how CURE’s top policy priorities fared in 2026:
Demanding Responsible Data Center Development
CURE and our allies advocated for a strong, clear framework for hyperscale data centers. The bottom line: if these companies want to operate in Minnesota, they should be good neighbors and meet clear standards.
These bills together create the base of that framework:
- S.F. 4298/H.F. 4888: Puts a temporary moratorium on all hyperscale data centers and requires a report on potential impacts.
- S.F. 3968/H.F. 2928: Establishes a data center-specific permit and requires all hyperscale data centers to undergo an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), bring their own clean energy from the start, and make investments in grid resilience.
- S.F. 3852/H.F. 3793: Creates an independent water appropriation permit for data centers and requires enforceable water use limits and efficiency requirements.
- S.F. 4379/H.F. 4077: Limits the use of Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA) to increase transparency.
- S.F. 4203/H.F. 4173: Eliminates the existing sales tax exemption for qualified large-scale data centers.
While several of these bills received committee hearings (most notably the NDA bill and the large water user bill) and enjoyed bipartisan support, there wasn’t enough political will to see them across the finish line.
But this issue isn’t going away anytime soon—hyperscale data center developers and end users continue to push their data center proposals forward across Minnesota, often without community support. That’s why legislators—both current and prospective—must make this a top priority next year.
In the meantime, local governments will have to fill this gap. At CURE, we’ll be working with grassroots community organizations and others to develop key tools folks can use when a data center proposal comes to town.
Have more questions? Check out our website and our webinar series.
Promoting Better Pipeline Planning
The Consumer Demand Forecast bill (S.F. 4554/H.F. 4377) received a favorable hearing from the House Energy Committee but was not included in any final bills that passed. The Landowner Choice bill (H.F. 1073/S.F. 733) did not advance further this year.
CURE continues to support both the Consumer Demand Forecast bill and the Landowner Choice bill and remains optimistic that the bill will advance in future sessions.
Defending Bedrock Laws
Fortunately, bills attempting to weaken Minnesota’s 100% carbon-free by 2040 law, net metering, and environmental review were unsuccessful this year. This is a major win for Minnesotans who care not only about decarbonizing our state, but also how we do so.
Supporting Zero Waste Initiatives
After many negotiations, the battery recycling bill, S.F. 1690/H.F. 1426, was included in the Senate’s Energy Policy Omnibus bill. Unfortunately, in the last few hours of session, that language was removed from consideration and ultimately did not pass. CURE will continue to support this and other essential zero-waste bills in future sessions.
The 2026 Legislative Session is over, but our work isn’t done. Stay up to date with the latest information about CURE’s work by following us on social media and subscribing to our emails.
By Sarah Mooradian, Government Relations & Policy Director
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