PROVIDENCE — As the General Assembly sprints into the final lap of the legislative session, lawmakers have just a handful of days to decide the fate of thousands of bills.

More than five months after the 2009 session began, the legislature has passed just 51 public laws, 20 of them in the last week alone.

House Speaker William J. Murphy said Thursday that he expects to adjourn by July 1. That leaves just over a week to deal with — or ignore — close to 2,000 proposals that remain, among them high-profile measures on gay marriage, prostitution, illegal immigration and the nomination of proposed Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Suttell. The owners of Twin River, meanwhile, are hoping lawmakers will grant them a financial reprieve that keeps them out of bankruptcy court.

Some bills will receive frazzled late-night votes on the last days of the session. Others will simply be left for dead.

“They’re stacked up like cordwood, and the calendars just keep getting longer and longer,” said John Marion, executive director of the government watchdog group Common Cause Rhode Island. “I’ve been told by legislators, ‘That’s the way it works here.’ I think in our view it doesn’t have to work that way. It doesn’t work that way everywhere. It’s clear there are times when they hold back bills until the end of the session as a strategy for whatever reason.”

Murphy defended the slow pace, saying this year is anything but typical. “With the downturn in our economy, much of the focus this year really has been on the budget and how we get out of this mess that we’re in,” the speaker said in a recent interview. Unveiled and approved by the House Finance Committee last week, the budget proposal will be debated on the House floor this Wednesday.

Senate Majority Leader Daniel P. Connors too said the state’s financial predicament has set the tone. “I think the budget has taken up a lot more time this year because of the financial meltdown,” he said.

Steven Brown, executive director of the Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, acknowledges the pace of life on Smith Hill has been unusual. “It’s been eerily quiet for the most of the session. Usually by this time we would have seen a lot more activity with bills. I don’t know if that means there just isn’t a lot going on or if the last week is going to be more frantic than usual,” he said.

When it comes down to numbers, however, this session isn’t actually so different after all. At exactly this point last year, lawmakers had passed 58 public laws, just slightly more than this year.

“It seems like they’re using the budget as an excuse,” said Marion. “I’ve heard that time and again, that not much is moving this year because we’re spending all our time on the budget. Is this a tough budget? Yes. But the budget hasn’t been on the floor of each chamber every day for the last few months. They’ve had plenty of opportunities to bring other things to the floor.”

House Minority Leader Robert Watson, a vocal critic of the Democratic leadership, quipped that the state may be better off if the Assembly passes fewer bills. “It’s a step in the right direction,” he said. “Less is more up here.”

Asked to identify their priorities moving into the final days, both Murphy and Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed put the so-called National Grid renewable energy bill — a proposal that would allow the energy giant to set up contracts to purchase power from alternative energy sources — at the top of their lists.

Murphy credited the proposal with potentially creating hundreds of jobs and helping jump-start the green economy in this state. “Rhode Island is trying to make its mark in the forefront of this area,” he said.

Like many bills this session, versions of that legislation have passed the House and Senate, but have not yet been reconciled. Governor Carcieri vetoed last year’s version.

Murphy was circumspect about his other priorities, suggesting the need for “business legislation which is on par with our neighbors to the north and to the south to make us more competitive.” But he declined to elaborate. “I don’t want to unveil all that we’re working on,” he said.

Other Assembly bills that Rhode Islanders may be watching closely:

Gay Marriage: The Ocean State is now the only New England state that has not legalized same-sex nuptials. House sponsor Arthur Handy, D-Cranston, is not optimistic. “Realistically, this late in the session, I’ve got to be honest, that’s a difficult one to assume we’ll pass,” Handy said. Both Murphy and Paiva Weed oppose legalizing gay marriage. A related proposal giving domestic partners the right to make funeral arrangements for their loved ones was approved by the Senate, but has not moved in the House.

E-Verify: A bill that supporters say will help crack down on illegal immigration by requiring private employers to electronically verify the citizenship of new hires has passed the House several years running, but has stalled in the Senate, in part because of concerns from Connors about its constitutionality.

Prostitution: House lawmakers have passed a bill closing a loophole that allows prostitution indoors. A similar proposal in the Senate is still in committee. Paiva Weed said she is “confident that we will address the issue of prostitution and human trafficking” this session.

Judicial Nominations: On Monday, the legislature will begin two days of confirmation hearings for Supreme Court chief justice nominee Paul Suttell, an associate justice and a former GOP lawmaker. The only other nomination that has gone to the Senate is that of Kristin E. Rodgers, the daughter of retiring Superior Court Presiding Justice Joseph F. Rodgers Jr., for a seat on that court. It’s worth watching whether she gets appointed before or after July 1 — the date when less generous pension rules for new judges would take effect under the new budget proposal.

Cell-phone ban for drivers: Both chambers are considering legislation that would prohibit drivers from using cell phones. The bills haven’t been heard from in several months, though observers have speculated that a compromise plan specifically banning text messaging while driving could be poised to move.

Voter ID: House lawmakers have OK’d legislation that could make Rhode Island the ninth state requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls, but the bill has not moved out of a Senate committee.

With reports from Katherine Gregg of the State House Bureau

cneedham@projo.com