Watch the Senator Lieske floor motion here.

ST. PAUL, MN –  Today Senator Bill Lieske (R- Lonsdale) made a motion to bring a bill to the floor that would give $8.7 billion, or half the state’s surplus, back to taxpayers in the form of rebate checks.

The bill provides joint filers with $4,400 check and single filers with a $2,200 check. The rebates would be one-time, and not subject to state income taxes. Senate File 1499 is called, “The Governor Tim Walz Rebate Check Act of 2023” and reads in part:    

The legislature finds the following: Given the size of the state budget surplus after the November 2022 forecast, the people of Minnesota have been significantly overtaxed. The people of Minnesota deserve their money back. The purpose of this act is to return money to the hardworking taxpayers of Minnesota. This action would be especially welcome as Minnesotans face the highest rates of inflation in decades. In June 2022, Governor Tim Walz proposed giving half of the projected surplus back to Minnesotans in the form of checks for each tax filer. This legislation would return half of the state’s budget surplus to the people of Minnesota.   

“Last year, Gov. Walz said he thought half the surplus should go back to Minnesotans. I was disappointed his most recent budget proposal didn’t send half the surplus in rebate checks, back but instead spends it on big government programs that include tax hikes and fee increases,” Lieske said. “My bill would be an opportunity for Gov. Walz to make good on his 2022 comments and give the surplus back to the people.”   

Minnesota’s office of Management and Budget (MMB) on Monday released its February revenue forecast, which provides information and an outlook for Minnesota’s financial picture. The report projects a surplus of $17.5 billion for the next budget cycle, which begins in July. 

Last week, the legislature passed a bill to automatically add inflation to forecast computations. Without that change, the true surplus number is closer to $19 billion.

“Everywhere I go I hear the same thing: give back the surplus,” Lieske continued. “A $17.5 billion surplus calls for significant relief for working Minnesotans, especially as prices for essentials such as gasoline, groceries, and energy continue to rise. People are still feeling squeezed. Government never should have taken this much from taxpayers; now we have a duty to give it back.”