Massachusetts senators and staffers were treated to free grilled cheese outside the State House Sunday afternoon on the final day of the legislative session, with a massive to-do list ahead of the midnight deadline.Alison Kuznitz/MassLive

As the Massachusetts Senate recessed early Sunday afternoon for free grilled cheese outside the State House, the chamber’s top budget writer expressed optimism that lawmakers could muscle through a hefty to-do list with mere hours remaining until formal lawmaking concludes at midnight.

Major pieces of legislation — including sports betting, economic development and tax relief, and mental health reform — still remain lodged in conference committee as closed-door negotiations continue.

But Senate Ways and Means Chairman Michael Rodrigues, when asked whether he anticipates a reconciled sports betting bill will emerge later Sunday, told MassLive: “I do.”

“I am optimistic that everything’s gonna get done today ... by midnight,” Rodrigues, a Westport Democrat, said at around 12:30 p.m. outside the Senate chamber.

Still, Democrats Senate President Karen Spilka and House Speaker Ron Mariano have publicly clashed in recent days over whether a compromise agreement would allow wagering on collegiate sports.

Meanwhile, negotiations surrounding tax relief faced a major hurdle earlier this week, as an obscure 1980s tax code provision that may take effect in September upended lawmakers’ calculations for delivering permanent tax breaks to Bay Staters, as well as one-time $250 stimulus checks to middle-income residents.

With Massachusetts awash in surplus tax revenues, the commonwealth may need to return nearly $3 billion to taxpayers, according to a 1986 ballot measure. Republican Gov. Charlie Baker has insisted the commonwealth can afford the current tax package under consideration, as well as this resurfaced tax cap expense — but top lawmakers in the Senate and House of Representatives are still mulling over affordability concerns.

Rodrigues stopped short of disclosing the status of those tax relief negotiations, warning he could not compromise the confidentiality of the conference committee.

“Everything’s on the table,” Rodrigues told MassLive. “We’re having lots of conversations, and they’re robust, so that’s good.”

For other senators, there was little certainly about what to expect in the final official day of lawmaking — other than that it was shaping up to be a long night.

“Let me tell you that I considered bringing my sleeping bag to the State House,” Sen. Becca Rausch told MassLive.

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