On Wednesday, June 29, Ramsey County District Court Judge Kathleen Gearin issued her ruling on what government services would continue absent appropriations passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor before the beginning of the 2012-2013 biennium on Friday, July 1. In her ruling, Judge Gearin construed her power to order government spending narrowly and largely adopted Governor Mark Dayton’s proposed list of critical services. Judge Gearin’s order with the list of services can be found with the other pleadings in the case here.

The first major category of services covered in Judge Gearin’s order are those programs that are covered under agreements between Minnesota and the Federal Government. These programs are...