As the only lighthearted holiday to fall during the legislative session, Valentine’s Day is celebrated with gusto in the General Assembly. Lurid decorations line the halls, gifts are exchanged, and the smell of lilies hangs cloyingly in the building. The briefly festive atmosphere is an annual tradition that stands in stark contrast to the daily stress and grind of the long legislative session.
This year, the holiday fell on one of the longest days on the House floor: the eve of crossover. On Valentine’s Day, more than 200 bills were on second reading on the House floor. Second reading is the point at which bills are explained by the patron, amended (if needed), and patrons are questioned about the content of their legislation. Bills are then in the correct posture to move to the third reading—the vote for final passage—the next day (crossover).
Both Valentine’s Day and crossover are now behind us. The decorations have been removed, and the flurry of pre-crossover activity have been replaced by…well, nothing. House Committees have yet to begin working on Senate bills, and Senate committees are just beginning to hear House bills. The floor calendar is therefore short. The pace will begin to increase next week, but the reality is that there are simply fewer bills left “alive” in the legislative process at this point.
