On the last day of the legislative session, every attempt to delay a bill has to be evaluated with an eye to whether it is aimed at improving a bill or killing it.
The usual way in which a member seeks a delay is to move for a "special order" pushing the matter farther down the calendar. Usually, a special order is granted as a courtesy to any member -- no matter which party. And often they are used to draft an amendment that corrects a mistake in the bill.
But the later a special order comes in the legislative, the more it's viewed with suspicion by Senate leaders. A special order is likely to be denied if it comes from a lawmakers who is viewed as an opponent on the bill -- especially on sine die.
We're getting an education in sine die politics today in the Senate. Sen. E. J. Pipkin, R-Upper Shore, has asked for a series of special orders on transportation-related bills pushing bills into the late afternoon session while amendments are drafted. If pushed to a vote, the special orders would likely have been turned down but Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller defused that by offering a special order to the end of the current calendar.
Finally, Pipkin pushed the envelope a little too far and had one of his special order requests voted down -- this time to draft amendments to a bill that would add a series of environmental criteria to the process of evaluating transportation projects. It's a bill that has been avidly sought by environmentalists. It came to the Senate this late because of a protracted negotiating process with county governments.
But Pipkin has now pushed back by launching what could be an extended debate on the bill, which he opposes as a mechanism for blocking road projects. And now her's getting support from Sen. Andrew Harris, R-Baltimore County, who is questioning the concept of "environmental justice." He's warned it could be a prolonged talk.
It's the first major speed bump of sine die on the Senate side -- but it might not be the last.
But the power lies with the majority -- and the Democrats in the chamber just exercised that power with a 31-14 cloture vote to limit debate,
Now Pipkin's offering an amendment delaying the effects of the bill. The floor leader, Sen. Richard Maddaleno, D-Montgomery, is asking the Senate to vote the amendment down. And it does go down, 30-15.