A QPQ Tracker study · Minnesota · 2023–2026
Minnesota: who paid for the data centers and what the state decided
Minnesota bars corporate gifts to candidates and parties and caps gifts to legislators. The utilities give only through PACs and in small amounts: $190,325 in all, $137,775 of it to the four caucus committees. Meta, Google, Microsoft and Amazon have no Minnesota contributor rows. Their 2025 spending went to lobbying.
HF 16 extended the data center sales-tax exemption to 35 years, with prevailing wage, an annual fee and a very-large-customer class at the Public Utilities Commission. The House passed it 85-43 and the Senate 40-26 in June 2025. A companion bill repealed the exemption on electricity, worth about $140M over four years. Every 2026 moratorium, repeal, water and nondisclosure bill stalled.
The Attorney General put the net cost of Google’s Pine Island service agreement to other customers at about $1B in October 2026. The commission’s decision is pending. Forty-four legislators’ votes are loaded from the House roll calls and the Senate Journal.
Who paid
Each company's direct giving from its treasury and employee PAC, as filed in Minnesota. Executives' personal cheques, super PAC spending and lobbying are different kinds of money and are not added here.
| Payer | Class | Direct giving in Minnesota | Filings (every state the payer files in) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xcel Energy | Utility | $94,275 | Filings and recipients → |
| Great River Energy | Utility | $47,950 | Filings and recipients → |
| ALLETE (Minnesota Power) | Utility | $37,350 | Filings and recipients → |
| Otter Tail Power | Utility | $10,750 | Filings and recipients → |
Who took it
The Minnesota officeholders and candidates who received the most from the payer set, and what each did on the state's data center measures: the votes they cast, the bills they authored, the orders they signed. A yea is a vote for the measure as titled.
2 measures voted on
- YeaHF 9: omnibus tax bill, repeal of the data center electricity exemption, Chapter 13Enacted
- YeaHF 16: data centers, Chapter 12Enacted
2 measures voted on
- NayHF 9: omnibus tax bill, repeal of the data center electricity exemption, Chapter 13Enacted
- NayHF 16: data centers, Chapter 12Enacted
3 measures voted on
- YeaHF 9: omnibus tax bill, repeal of the data center electricity exemption, Chapter 13Enacted
- YeaHF 16: data centers, Chapter 12Enacted
- NayAmendment A41 to S.F. 3045: ban on local data center nondisclosure agreements (failed 32-32)Failed
3 measures voted on · 2 actions on measures
- advocated forHF 9: omnibus tax bill, repeal of the data center electricity exemption, Chapter 13Enacted
- advocated forHF 16: data centers, Chapter 12Enacted
- YeaHF 9: omnibus tax bill, repeal of the data center electricity exemption, Chapter 13Enacted
- YeaHF 16: data centers, Chapter 12Enacted
- NayAmendment A41 to S.F. 3045: ban on local data center nondisclosure agreements (failed 32-32)Failed
3 measures voted on
- NayHF 16: data centers, Chapter 12Enacted
- NayHF 9: omnibus tax bill, repeal of the data center electricity exemption, Chapter 13Enacted
- NayAmendment A41 to S.F. 3045: ban on local data center nondisclosure agreements (failed 32-32)Failed
3 measures voted on
- YeaHF 16: data centers, Chapter 12Enacted
- YeaHF 9: omnibus tax bill, repeal of the data center electricity exemption, Chapter 13Enacted
- NayAmendment A41 to S.F. 3045: ban on local data center nondisclosure agreements (failed 32-32)Failed
2 measures voted on
- YeaHF 16: data centers, Chapter 12Enacted
- YeaHF 9: omnibus tax bill, repeal of the data center electricity exemption, Chapter 13Enacted
2 measures voted on
- YeaHF 9: omnibus tax bill, repeal of the data center electricity exemption, Chapter 13Enacted
- YeaHF 16: data centers, Chapter 12Enacted
2 measures voted on · 1 action on a measure
- advocated forHF 9: omnibus tax bill, repeal of the data center electricity exemption, Chapter 13Enacted
- NayHF 16: data centers, Chapter 12Enacted
- YeaHF 9: omnibus tax bill, repeal of the data center electricity exemption, Chapter 13Enacted
The 12 largest recipients of any kind, committees included
| # | Recipient | Kind | From the payer set |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DFL Senate Caucus | PAC or committee | $44,850 |
| 2 | Hrcc | PAC or committee | $34,975 |
| 3 | Senate Victory Fund (SVF) | PAC or committee | $31,900 |
| 4 | DFL House Caucus | PAC or committee | $26,050 |
| 5 | MN DFL State Central Committee | PAC or committee | $7,750 |
| 6 | Political Committee for the Future of the Iron Range | PAC or committee | $5,000 |
| 7 | Lisa Demuth | person | $4,000 |
| 8 | Klobuchar, Amy Gov Committee | PAC or committee | $4,000 |
| 9 | Chris Swedzinski | person | $1,750 |
| 10 | Ann Rest | person | $1,550 |
| 11 | Grant Hauschild | person | $1,550 |
| 12 | Rarick, Marion Olivia House Committee | PAC or committee | $1,500 |
What they decided
Every Minnesota bill, regulator's order, executive action and election the study tracks, with its result, its recorded vote and the people and companies on the record for it. Each links to the official document.
Minnesota7 measures
- Regulator's orderEnactedJun 12, 2026Google commented on; DATA CENTER COALITION commented on; Minnesota Public Utilities Commission issued
- BillFailedJun 12, 2026Jen McEwen advocated for; Leigh Finke advocated for; Erin Maye Quade advocated for; Samantha Sencer-Mura advocated for
- Regulator's orderPendingApr 14, 2026
- BillEnactedJun 14, 2025House last roll 9–1 among 10 loaded members, Jun 9, 2025Senate last roll 6–2 among 8 loaded members, Jun 9, 202518 votes loadedAnn Rest advocated for; Aisha Gomez advocated for; Greg Davids advocated for; Tim Walz (Minnesota) shaped
- BillEnactedJun 14, 2025House last roll 6–4 among 10 loaded members, Jun 9, 2025Senate last roll 5–3 among 8 loaded members, Jun 9, 202518 votes loadedAnn Rest advocated for; John Huot advocated for; Greg Davids advocated for; Tim Walz (Minnesota) shaped
- BillFailedApr 25, 2025Senate last roll 3–5 among 8 loaded members, Apr 25, 20258 votes loadedErin Maye Quade advocated for
- Regulator's orderEnactedFeb 28, 2025
How to read this page
The money is corporate-treasury and employee-PAC giving reported in Minnesota’s own filing system, the Campaign Finance Board bulk files, from January 2023 to the latest filing loaded (283 contributions, January 2023 to September 2026). Transfers between a politician’s own committees, conduit memo lines and gifts from the opposing side are left out. Executives’ personal cheques, super PAC spending, 527 transfers and lobbying are different kinds of money. The report keeps them apart, and the written part of this page names them as such. Nothing on this page adds across kinds.
The votes are the legislature’s own roll calls, loaded for the members the study follows. A yea is a vote for the measure as titled. The measures are the bills, commission orders, executive actions and elections the study identified; each links to its official record.
Every payer total was reconciled against the payer’s own reports where the state publishes them. The checks are in the report’s verification log. Figures on this page were last recomputed on October 31, 2026. Correlation is not proof of causation; the record shows what was paid and what was decided.