Deal on COVID Worker Bonuses, Unemployment Insurance Fund

ST. PAUL -- Legislative leaders reportedly have a deal to break the long-standing deadlock over COVID front-line worker bonuses and avoid business tax increases at the end of the month.

It comes just short of Saturday's deadline to replenish the COVID-depleted Unemployment Insurance Fund, which House Democrats said they would do, only if more money was set aside from the surplus for COVID hero pay than the 250 million dollars the legislature designated last summer.

It appears the agreement is that House Democrats will get 500 million dollars for hero bonuses instead of the one billion dollars they were asking for.

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Senate Republicans will get the full amount they want -- 2.7 billion dollars -- to refill the Unemployment Insurance Fund and avoid business tax increases which would have officially taken effect on April 30th.

This story is courtesy of the Minnesota News Network.