Senator Carla Nelson (R-Rochester) and the Minnesota Senate today passed a bipartisan agreement that will stop devastating tax increases on small businesses and provide meaningful bonuses to frontline workers. The bill resolves Senate and House differences between repaying and refilling the Unemployment Insurance (UI) Trust Fund and providing bonuses to workers who worked the frontline during the COVID pandemic.

“I am ecstatic this is finally done,” Nelson said. “It is a fantastic deal for Minnesotans. Putting an end to the unnecessary tax hikes on Main Street businesses across Minnesota, and showing our gratitude to the heroes who put themselves at risk working the frontlines of the Covid pandemic, were two of our top priorities this year. While I wish we could have wrapped this up a couple of months ago, I am glad it is getting finished now.” 

The agreement means $2.7 billion will be used to pay off the loan from the federal government and refill the UI fund to its necessary balance using mostly federal funds. As part of the agreement, $500 million from the surplus will go to frontline workers who were most at risk during the COVID pandemic. As the Senate proposed two weeks ago, the House DFL will choose which workers will get bonuses.

The agreement is funded with remaining federal ARPA funds.