Debt collectors are prohibited from intercepting COVID-19 relief payments bound for Minnesota residents under a new order Monday from Gov. Tim Walz.
The executive order applies to the $1,200 income replacement checks issued by the federal government, as well as any state, local or tribal relief funds related to the pandemic and its resulting economic slowdown.
“This executive order will help alleviate the financial burden Minnesotans are facing, allowing them to pay rent and put food on the table,” Walz said in a prepared statement. “This action will help ensure the COVID-19 support that local, state, tribal, and federal governments provide will go where it is needed most.”
Many states already have acted to ensure the federal helicopter funds are delivered as intended, and some states prohibit garnishment altogether.
The governor’s order does not apply to garnishment related to child support or spousal maintenance.
More than 600,000 Minnesotans have applied for unemployment benefits since March 16.
Walz said this is “not the time to collect from the most vulnerable.”
“This public health crisis falls hardest on Minnesotans who were already in crisis,” Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan said in a prepared statement. “This executive order ensures that relief funding goes toward helping folks take care of themselves and their families first during this unprecedented time so that we can all stay safe and make it through together.”
