Most of the time, observers in the balconies see a well-scripted ritual. A presiding officer announces a bill, somebody else moves for bill substitution or suspension of the rules to allow for the third and final reading. I urge your support. And it passes without opposition. Things have been worked out in committee sessions and hallways before the bill ever reaches the floor.
Parties recess into caucus rooms on either side of the floor to huddle and design plays.
At the after-lunch caucus, Anderson and a few others seek out the couches in the back and let the drone of staff reports on utility and transportation bills lullaby t hem into naps. Going strong sometimes 20 hours a day, you grab sleep where you can find it. What keeps everyone not only awake, but on the edge of their seats Friday night, Saturday morning and afternoon is the imminent threat of a Republican offensive banning late-term abortions and gay marriage. Like Hamlet, Anderson has been wrestling with wh at his conscience can support. Because one side wins today, doesn't mean this issue will go away.