Ceremonial Bill Signing for Unemployment Fund & Frontline Workers

Governor Tim Walz, flanked by bipartisan legislative leaders and frontline workers, held a ceremonial bill signing Monday, May 2, to celebrate the long-awaited agreement to replenish the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund and provide hero checks to the workers who continued to work during the early days of COVID-19 pandemic.

The law allocates about $500 million to provide bonuses of up to $750 to approximately 667,000 eligible workers. The measure also includes $2.7 billion to pay off the federal debt in the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund and replenish the fund to near-pre-pandemic levels, a priority for both Governor Tim Walz and Senate Republicans. Without the measure, Minnesota businesses would have seen a significant increase in payroll taxes.

With three weeks remaining in the legislative session and significant work remaining on policy and supplemental spending bills, Governor Walz, Speaker Melissa Hortman and Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller all touted the importance of reaching this agreement.

"To the Minnesotans who bore the brunt of so much of this, thank you," said Walz. "This is proof positive that there's no politics in this. It's a simple thank you and we're grateful," he concluded.