The Legislature will reconvene on Jan. 24 for what will likely be a much calmer session than Minnesotans have seen for several years. With the announcement in December that the state has a projected $867 million budget surplus, this is the first time since 2007 that the state's policymakers are not facing a budget deficit.

There are still some significant issues for the Legislature and governor to address. During even-numbered years, policymakers work toward approving a comprehensive bonding bill for the state's capital projects. Other driving forces this session will be proposals to stimulate job growth, the Vikings stadium debate, redistricting of the state's legislative boundaries and some additional constitutional amendment proposals.

Higher education issues
The House and Senate higher education committees will spend a significant portion of their time considering the bonding requests from the University of Minnesota and MnSCU systems. Bonding dollars are a significant source of resources for new construction and building upkeep on the public college and university campuses.

On the financing side, the public systems are adapting to the reduced budgets that were appropriated last session and the committees will likely hold hearings to learn about how the systems are responding. The Minnesota State Grant program is expected to be able to make full financial aid awards for the 2012-13 academic year, the first time in three years the program will be fully funded.

Since last session, there are three new faces in Minnesota's higher education leadership. This past summer, Eric Kahler took over as president at the University of Minnesota and Steven Rosenstone began his tenure as chancellor of Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU). This fall Gov. Mark Dayton appointed Sen. Larry Pogemiller to head the Office of Higher Education. These three will likely spend considerable time before the higher ed committees as they identify their visions for their institutions and higher education in Minnesota.