Dear Neighbor, 

We are now in the final stretch of the 2026 legislative session, with our constitutional adjournment date set for this Sunday, May 17th. That deadline means the Legislature must complete all budget bills, policy negotiations, and final votes before midnight on Sunday night. As we approach the end of session, the pace at the Capitol has increased significantly, with long days on the House floor and ongoing negotiations to finalize major pieces of legislation. These final days are some of the busiest and most important of the entire year, as lawmakers work through remaining disagreements and make final decisions on policies and spending that will impact Minnesotans across the state. My focus continues to be on supporting responsible budgeting, protecting taxpayers, and advancing practical policies that benefit families, workers, and communities throughout Minnesota. 

On Tuesday night, May 12th, we declared an “Urgency” on House File (HF) 3945 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Pollution Superfund Act. In summary, this act, if passed, would create a GHG superfund by retroactively (January 1st, 1995 to December 31st, 2026) penalizing the oil, gas, and electricity-generation industry (coal) for selling a legal product that we all depend on…fuel and electricity. This superfund, supplemented by future legislative appropriations (increased tax dollars), would be used for climate change adaptation projects. In other words, the government, rather than the free-market system, would decide what is best for Minnesotans. If you are an average Minnesotan, frustrated with Fraud and the misuse of your tax dollars, you are probably asking why do we pass laws that hinder businesses and raise costs? For reference, I ask myself the same question every day. Don’t worry, in the short-term we stopped this bill from moving forward by the vote above. However, it could easily come back in future years. 

If the GHG Superfund bill passes in future years, it could result in the two Minnesota-based refineries closing to avoid paying any additional dollars into this account. Based on the increased costs of shipping fuel into Minnesota or generating electricity outside of Minnesota and transmitting it to your home from another state, the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce estimates this bill could cost Minnesota families an additional $7,243.00 per family per year to support the GHG Superfund. These costs are not related to an artificial oil price increase from OPEC or some other overseas organization. These costs are based on the desire of some legislators to redistribute your hard-earned dollars into a Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Superfund. Needless to say, the vote to declare an Urgency on this bill failed miserably. However, don’t ever forget this bill. It could come back to haunt all of us in future years. 

What are the long-term effects of these types of proposals, even if they do not pass? They create a destabilizing business environment. What does this mean? 

Think about it. Any business thinking about expanding or relocating to the Midwest wants a stable work force, a stable and affordable tax environment, a pro-business permitting environment, and affordable, reliable, safe energy sources. Minnesota is not signaling a stable business environment for future growth. In 2025, the legislature passed an anti-data center bill significantly increasing permitting requirements without a complete understanding of all the implications. Some believe this legislation is good. Yes, but rather than working with the data center coalition to build environmentally friendly data centers, we jumped to protectionist conclusions and significantly increased our permitting requirements. Furthermore, we created an implied promise to establish more barriers to entry into a Minnesota business market without understanding the real impact of data centers on the environment or the electrical grid. In summary, I am suggesting that we all need to work harder at creating a “maybe it could work” business environment rather than a “no we don’t want you” business environment. I sincerely look forward to your feedback. 

Coffee with Tom is now on break until after the legislative session concludes. 

Please note that we will not host Coffee with Tom during the month of May due to our uncertain legislative schedule. As we move towards the end of session on May 17th, 2026, we could be in-session all seven days of the week (in fact, we are this week!). 

Currently, I am planning to host Coffee with Tom at the Owatonna Chamber of Commerce on Friday, June 5th from 12:00pm – 1:00pm.  

Next, I am planning to host Coffee with Tom at the Waseca Chamber of Commerce on Friday, June 19th from 12:00pm – 1:00pm. Note: The Waseca Chamber of Commerce is closed on June 12th, 2026, so we rescheduled to the following Friday. 

Thank you for your support and feedback, and please reach out if you need assistance in the meantime!