Pro forma Session

"Pro forma" is a Latin term meaning "As a matter of form." When you see the Senate meet for just a minute or two and then adjourn, you may be seeing a pro forma session.
Article 1, Section 5 of the U.S. Constitution says that neither the House of Representatives nor the U.S. Senate may adjourn for more than three days without consent from the other. This keeps either body from delaying legislation by refusing to meet.
Rather than spend time seeking permission from the other body not to meet, the Senate and the House will hold a pro forma session. A Member will bring the chamber to order and then adjourn immediately. Even a brief session counts as a day.
Most of the legislation passing the Senate is public legislation. That is, it affects society as a whole. However, the Senate may also pass private laws.

What is a private law?


This information is paraphrased from the book "The Young Oxford Companion to the Congress of the United States." Used with kind permission of the author, Donald A. Ritchie