Sine die
Definition
Sine die (Latin for "without a day") is a final adjournment of a legislative session with no date set to reconvene. Once a legislature adjourns sine die, unfinished bills typically die and must be reintroduced from scratch in a future session.
Why it matters
The rush toward sine die creates a deadline crunch where hundreds of bills get resolved in the final hours, often with minimal debate or public notice. Leadership controls the exact timing, giving it power to run out the clock on bills it opposes or jam through priority legislation while opposition capacity is lowest.
Seen in the wild
The Florida Legislature's 2025 regular session was scheduled to adjourn sine die on May 2, 2025, but lawmakers extended session over a budget impasse, showing how the sine die date itself can become a point of leverage between chambers.