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Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

Yes.

In May 2023, the Minnesota Legislature approved and Gov. Tim Walz signed a 2023-25 state budget of $72 billion.

That spends 38.4% more than the previous two-year budget of $52 billion.

The new budget period started July 1, 2023.

Walz is a Democrat, and the Legislature is majority Democrat.

The $72 billion budget tapped a $17.5 billion budget surplus and raised billions in tax revenues. It gave lower- and middle-income residents $1.1 billion in tax rebates and $1.4 billion in expanded tax credits, according to news reports.

Republicans pushed for bigger rebates and more permanent tax cuts.

Wisconsin’s 2023-25 $99 billion state budget was a 13% increase over the previous budget of $87.5 billion. Gov. Tony Evers is a Democrat, while the Legislature is majority Republican.

Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, made the 40% claim on May 18, 2024, at the Wisconsin Republican Convention.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Associated Press: Minnesota Legislature adjourns after passing $72B budget; Democrats celebrate as GOP hits tax hikes

Pioneer Press: Walz signs $72 billion Minnesota budget: ‘We’re leaving no one behind’

Associated Press: Walz, legislative leaders reach $52 billion budget deal

Pioneer Press: What’s in MN’s $72B budget and what else lawmakers approved

PBS Wisconsin: Evers Signs Wisconsin’s 2021-23 Budget with 50 Partial Vetoes

WisconsinEye: 2024 Republican Party of Wisconsin State Convention

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Tom Kertscher joined Wisconsin Watch as a full-time Milwaukee-based reporter in October 2024 after starting as a freelance Fact Briefs reporter in January 2023. In addition to contributing to Wisconsin Watch’s collaboration with The Gigafact Project to combat online misinformation, he reports on Wisconsin policy, labor, energy and the rapid expansion of data centers across the state. Kertscher is a former longtime reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a contributing writer for Milwaukee Magazine and the author of two sports books, on Al McGuire and Brett Favre.