ST. PAUL, Minn. – After a week of Special Session wrangling, a state budget has taken form for the coming biennium. Lawmakers said the package includes $1 billion in tax cuts over four years. The biggest chunk is $650 million in business tax forgiveness on Paycheck Protection Program loans. The cuts also include $10,200 in unemployment benefits for people who lost jobs due to the pandemic. A bottom line for the budget was still in limbo, but the broad agreement means the Legislature is on the cusp of final approval before a July1 deadline that could have resulted in a government shutdown. Breakthroughs on the agreement came in closed meetings over the past week with Democrat Governor Tim Walz and Senate majority Republicans and House majority Democrats.
