Capitol View for December 7

Good morning. Pause today to reflect on Pearl Harbor Day, now 82 years after an attack that shook our country.

Well, shred those ambitious to-do lists for the 2024 legislative session. The latest budget forecast puts a pall over anything that requires money, as a story by MPR’s Dana Ferguson suggested . Yes, there’s a surplus, but every dollar spent next session puts Minnesota closer to a deficit in the future given how tenuous the revenue-spending balance has become. DFL leaders, including Gov. Tim Walz, were preaching restraint by the Legislature. Republicans had their “I told you so” messaging down and said Minnesota’s finances were made more precarious by the budget enacted this year. MMB Commissioner Erin Campbell joined in on the warnings about the future outlook. “Such a small balance, together with a structural imbalance, suggests policymakers will need to be very thoughtful when making budget decisions this next year,” she said.

MPR Morning Edition host Cathy Wurzer checks in during the 7 a.m. hour with DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman and GOP Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson. Listen here, on your radio or on a streaming app.

We told you yesterday about the IRS determination that Minnesota’s tax rebates will be taxed. Asked by reporters about the outcome, Gov. Tim Walz had had an unairable appraisal, a term synonymous with the initials B.S. That hasn’t gone over well. Both DFLers and Republicans are disappointed. Walz said he was on the phone with the White House chief of staff to press Minnesota’s case. Republicans pointed it out as another letdown when it comes to the small amount of money taxpayers got from the last surplus.

It’s worth keeping an eye on the process to adopt new social studies standards in Minnesota. MPR’s Elizabeth Shockman honed in on how the effort to bake ethnic studies into those standards might play out in practice. A current draft of the proposed standards includes language requiring ethnic studies An administrative law judge is expected to make a final decision on their inclusion by Jan. 5. As Shockman writes, supporters say requiring the studies is crucial to Minnesota building a future where its growing ethnicity is understood and respected. Critics say the effort will only divide Minnesota more.

Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis tangled in last night’s GOP presidential debate that also included Chris Christie and Vivek Ramaswamy. Both Haley and DeSantis are trying to establish themselves as the alternative to Donald Trump in the Republican nomination race. He didn’t take the stage for the fourth debate nor has he been in any of them. NPR’s Sarah McCammon captured some of the memorable moments. This might be the final debate before the voting begins in Iowa on Jan. 15.