"That's right," he told me. "I'm a little nervous."

He said that the bill was reported out of the judiciary committee yesterday "with no negative votes by the Democrats," but he stopped short of making any predictions about its fate.

It should be said that the mere fact that the Assembly is having this debate is historic, and it certainly has the potential -- depending on how things go -- to become national news.

They Assembly is in session now, and the debate is expected later today. You can watch the session live here.