John Tuma was initially appointed to the Public Utilities Commission by Governor Mark Dayton, effective February 2, 2015. He was reappointed by Governor Tim Walz on March 30, 2021 and confirmed on May 12, 2023. Commissioner Tuma has served as the Commission liaison with the State’s regulated utilities regarding cyber security protocols. He also represents Minnesota and serves on the Regional State Committee of the Southwest Power Pool, the regional transmission organization for Western Minnesota and several other states of the Great Plains. He takes an active role in the Commission’s operations and budgeting along with serving as chairman of the Staff Wellness Committee. He also serves on the NARUC Committee on Telecommunications.
Prior to his appointment, Commissioner Tuma had decades of experience working on energy and conservation policy issues for a variety of nongovernmental organizations. Immediately prior to being named to the Commission, he served as a Government Relations Associate with Conservation Minnesota. He helped lead efforts to pass key energy legislation, including Minnesota’s Mercury Emissions Reduction Act and Renewable Energy Standard – both of which garnered broad bipartisan support. He also served many other clients previously as a legislative policy liaison, most notably the Minnesota Inter-County Association covering areas of public safety and corrections.
Commissioner Tuma served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1995 to 2002, representing parts of Rice, Le Sueur, Scott, and Dakota counties. During his time in the House, he served as Chair of the Crime Prevention Committee and as Vice Chair of the Local Government Committee. While in the Legislature, Tuma was an active member of Judiciary Finance, Higher Education Finance, and Environment Policy committees. As a member of the House, Tuma was awarded Legislator of the Year by ARC of Minnesota, the state’s largest disability organization; PACER, an organization defending the rights of the disabled in education; the Minnesota League of Conservation Voters; and the Women’s Auxiliary of the VFW.
Commissioner Tuma has practiced law in Northfield, Minnesota in the areas of workers’ compensation, criminal law, real estate, business organization and litigation, special education law, and personal injury litigation. He was Managing Attorney for Tuma and Thompson LLC from 1994 to 2001 in partnership with former Minnesota State Senator Dave Thompson.
Commissioner Tuma is married to Wendy Tuma, lives in Northfield, and has two adult children, Cal and Molly. He earned his B.A. from Minnesota State University, Mankato, and his J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School.
His term expires January 4, 2027
