With little time to spare, the Minnesota House and Senate passed the final pieces of Minnesota's two-year, $52 billion dollar budget on Wednesday. And with Governor Tim Walz's signature, the state avoided a partial government shutdown.
The final spending plan lawmakers needed to solve was the K-12 spending bill, which the Senate pass unanimously on Wednesday evening. Early Thursday morning, a tax bill was passed which included nearly $1 billion in tax cuts.
“For the fifth year in a row, Senate Republicans have stopped harmful and excessive tax increases on Minnesotans," Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka (R- East Gull Lake) said in a press release. "It makes no sense to raise taxes on hard-working families and small businesses after a year of sacrifice, and especially when state government turned surplus and received billions in stimulus funds from the federal government. We held strong against Gov. Walz demands and instead, delivered nearly a billion dollars in tax relief."
Senate DFL Leader Susan Kent shared her praises on the budget agreements:
“The Senate DFL fought hard all session to build the state that all Minnesotans deserve. That includes fighting for equity and justice at home, work, school, in their environment, and at the ballot box. The values we share bring our communities together and serve as a guide for how we make our state work better for all of us, no matter what we look like or where we come from.”
According to Senate Republicans, the $944 million tax bill, "provides full conformity to federal tax rules for the forgivable Paycheck Protection Program loans many businesses used to survive the COVID-19 pandemic, including deductions for expenses, and full conformity for federal pandemic unemployment benefits up to $10,200."
The approved tax plan established the Frontline Worker Grant Program working group, tasked with providing relief funds to workers put at-risk during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The working group will make recommendations on how to disperse $250 million in direct cash to frontline workers.
A special session will likely take place in September to craft plans to divvy up the funds.