This is what Minnesota democracy looks like.

After months of fairly inconsequential public meetings dutifully posted on the legislative calendar, our state’s elected leaders got serious in a series of closed door meetings that lead to an announcement last night of bills the Legislature is likely to pass before adjourning Sunday at midnight.

The package needs majority approval, of course, in the Minnesota House and Senate. But the Legislature operates in a very-top down manner. Members will almost surely get in line with House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, House DFL Leader Zack Stephenson of Coon Rapids, and Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul. 

The agreement is captured in a one-page document put out by Gov. Tim Walz’s office that contains decontextualized budget numbers. Here is what we know so far.

Hennepin County Medical Center – and people who buy stuff in Hennepin County – are winners.

This is not included in the one-pager, but, according to the governor’s office, the embattled hospital gets $205 million in state support for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

Additionally, a $500 million reserve account will start to “help ensure HCMC remains open and able to serve Minnesotans,” per the governor’s office.

Rep. Esther Agbaje, DFL-Minneapolis, who has run point guard on House HCMC deliberations, roundly praised the deal in a Facebook post Wednesday night.

Indeed, earlier proposals had Hennepin County consumers bearing the brunt of helping HCMC through changes in the county’s sales tax. Instead, it would appear that the money to help the hospital, which provides way more charity care than other giant Minneapolis medical facilities, is coming from the state’s general fund.

A $1.2 billion bonding bill

A line item in the agreement contains $51 million for capital investment that, according to the governor’s office, is yearly debt service on a $1.2 billion general obligation bond for infrastructure projects across the state.

This is substantially more than the $900 million Walz called for in his supplemental budget. It represents a perhaps surprising breakthrough as Capital Investment Committee members seemed to be banging their heads against a wall. 

IT modernization 

The agreement calls for $75 million in modernizing IT for the rickety systems counties use to administer Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance and other social services.

This is at the high end of numbers lawmakers had debated, representing something in line to what outgoing Health and Human Services Chair Melissa Wiklund, DFL-Bloomington, wanted.

Related: Yes, IT systems for delivering public benefits are outdated. But can the Legislature agree on a fix?

Property tax relief

Perhaps the most surprising number in the agreement is $277 million in “taxes and local aids,” which is largely toward property tax rebates. 

Property taxes levies come from a series of local government bodies. This year, counties’ levies increased their highest year-over-year since 2002. 

Fraud Fraud Fraud

The agreement includes the $1.2 million needed to bolster staff at the Minnesota Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. 

There is also $7 million this year and then $24 million over the next two years toward creating a statewide office of the inspector general.

The agreement also purports to shave $150 million from the Human Services budget. Let’s see. The Minnesota House earlier this week passed a bill adding $740 million to the Human Services budget, a leap largely due to the higher rates imposed by managed care organizations (which the managed care orgs would point out is needed to keep up with spiraling prescription costs). 

The deal is silent on guns and ICE

This is technically an agreement meant to supplement the two-year budget that Walz and legislative leaders agreed to last June. 

So, changes in gun or immigration policy without much of a money component could still materialize. 

But legislation like an assault weapons ban has not received an airing in the evenly divided House after passing the DFL-controlled Senate.

On Thursday morning, advocates for the assault weapons ban marched their way to Demuth’s office and demanded she report the bill to the House floor. 

As for immigration, a plan to help businesses affected by Operation Metro Surge has also not been heard in the House.

Stay tuned for further explanation and context on the legislative deal. 

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