Drive Electric Minnesota Coalition Releases 2026 Policy Platform

Minnesota state legislators reconvened on Tuesday, February 17, for the 2026 legislative session. Drive Electric Minnesota is gearing up to advocate for policies to lower barriers to electrification and provide needed support for the state’s growing electric vehicle (EV) market.

For the second year in a row, Minnesota EV advocates are operating in an uncertain landscape. The federal administration has rolled back support for electric transportation, including by eliminating EV tax credits, ending the adoption of EVs in federal government fleets, and more.

State support for electrification in Minnesota is also uncertain. The state passed its own EV rebate in 2023, but funding for that program was exhausted as quickly as it arrived due to strong demand vastly outpacing funding allocated by the legislature. In 2025, Minnesota adopted new taxes and fees that will increase costs to own and operate EVs, particularly for people without access to home charging.

Within this uncertain landscape, Drive Electric Minnesota is focused on finding ways to continue making progress on transportation electrification statewide. The coalition’s 2026 policy platform includes common-sense measures to reduce barriers to electrification and support the EV industry in Minnesota. For example, Drive Electric Minnesota is pushing back against the state’s punitive new EV taxes and fees that place undue burdens on EV owners and risk discouraging electrification. We are also advocating for policies to increase access to EV charging and pursue stable funding mechanisms to support electrification.

As we work to pass supportive EV policies in Minnesota, we are thankful for our coalition members’ ongoing advocacy efforts. The policy statements below reflect member priorities for the 2026 legislative session and are supported by the following members:

Alliance for Transportation Electrification

CALSTART

City of Minneapolis

Connexus Energy

Electrification Coalition

Fresh Energy

Minnesota Automobile Dealers Association

Range Zero Emissions

Shift2Electric

Xcel Energy

Zeigler Truck Group

Drive Electric Minnesota’s 2026 policy statements:

Increase access to EV charging for all Minnesotans.

The challenge: Limited access to charging prevents many Minnesotans from pursuing EV adoption. With 80 percent of EV charging happening at home, and with home charging much more affordable than public charging, it is critical to ensure that all Minnesotans have access to charging where they live. However, many renters and residents of apartment buildings face limited access to home charging.

Public and workplace charging access are also crucial, providing needed flexibility for EV drivers and supporting households that lack access to home charging. According to the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Needs Assessment, the state will need 4,000 public fast charging ports, 40,000 shared level 2 private ports, and 48,000 public level 2 ports to support continued EV adoption by 2030. As of December 2025, there are just 814 fast charging ports and 2,047 level 2 charging ports statewide.

Specific policy solutions supported by Drive Electric Minnesota:

• Enact legislation to prevent residents of multifamily housing or homeowners’ association-governed properties from being unreasonably denied access to charging infrastructure.
• Provide support to traditional gas stations seeking to transition to EV refueling stations.

Increase adoption of electric vehicles statewide through non-financial incentives and by ensuring that transportation funding policies do not place an undue financial burden on EV drivers.

The challenge: The upfront costs of EVs remain a barrier to electrification, and many prospective EV buyers remain uninformed about the many benefits of driving electric. In addition, declining state and federal financial support for EVs and punitive new state EV taxes threaten to disrupt a still nascent market.

There are many ways the state of Minnesota could support EV adoption and its own climate and electrification goals. For instance, the state should pursue transportation funding mechanisms that address the true causes of declining revenues—such as improvements in gas vehicle fuel economy and rising inflation—and that do not risk the state’s climate and electrification goals. At the same time, it should consider non-financial incentives to accelerate EV adoption and increase awareness of EVs.

Specific policy solutions supported by Drive Electric Minnesota:

• Develop comprehensive, long-term strategies for sustainable transportation taxes and fees that are fair and aligned with Minnesota’s climate and electrification goals.
• Expand access to high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes for EV drivers, regardless of passenger count, to reward clean transportation choices.

Pursue sustainable funding mechanisms for transportation electrification.

The challenge: The transition to electric transportation will require stable, predictable, and adequate funding. However, federal policy changes and state budgetary challenges have led to increased uncertainty around the future of the EV market. Minnesota should identify and implement new, long-term funding mechanisms for EVs to complement shorter-term funding opportunities.

Specific policy solutions supported by Drive Electric Minnesota:

Pursue stable, long-term funding mechanisms to provide the certainty needed to support the state’s EV market.

To stay up to date on what’s happening with electric vehicle policy in Minnesota, follow Drive Electric Minnesota on LinkedIn!

Please consider joining Minnesota’s EV champions and implementing our policy platform by becoming a member of Drive Electric Minnesota.