McCoy says expect to work late

House Speaker Billy McCoy told lawmakers Tuesday they had better expect to work late this week and added representatives are behind schedule getting legislation passed.

McCoy, D-Rienzi, told the House they needed to get through a list of “non-controversial” bills sooner. McCoy's words came just before the House adjourned for a two-hour lunch break, as one observer noted. The speaker said legislators are paid to work seven days a week and also work longer hours than a traditional job sometimes. He said it’s clear from watching Congress live on C-Span that they don’t keep traditional hours.

“Many times late at night they are working,” McCoy said.

The reason for working late this week is to meet a Thursday deadline. After Thursday, legislators will see bills that originated in their house dead if they don't act on them.