The first day of the legislative session was supposed to start off easily.

It didn’t.

What’s surprising is that we’re surprised at all.

The first item for consideration was a bill to provide $5 million in emergency heating assistance to low-income Mainers, a move broadly agreed upon by the leaders of both political parties. Federal assistance for heating oil has fallen flat and left many people with no prospects of staying warm this winter.

On Wednesday, as temperatures in some parts of the state dipped below zero, the Legislature had been expected to expedite passage of the emergency money and send it to Gov. Baldacci for his signature by noon.

The bill passed easily in the House. In the Senate, it ran into some trouble. Republican Sen. Jonathan Courtney, York County, submitted two amendments, and the vote was put off until the afternoon.

One of the amendments makes some sense, while the other is a bit confusing. Both gummed up the works and showed that only a shallow veneer covers the partisanship in the Senate.

The first would reduce temporarily the sales tax paid on heating oil by businesses with less than 50,000 square feet from 5 percent to 2.5 percent. The other amendment would earmark the first $5 million in revenue generated from the sales tax on heating oil, it seems, to offset the emergency assistance.

The sales tax reduction idea has merit and deserves consideration. Businesses are facing the same exaggerated heating expenses as homeowners, and it might be worthwhile to offer them some assistance. The second is more obtuse.

Neither is as clear-cut as the need to help people get through winter and shouldn’t have delayed passage of the bill.

Maine can expect only $24 million in federal heating oil assistance, the same as last year. Prices, however, aren’t steady. Prices have nearly doubled during the last two years, are up about 45 cents a gallon from this time last year, and the state’s coldest months are still ahead.

It appeared late Wednesday that the bill would still be passed by the Senate and that Baldacci would sign it sometime today. Both amendments failed on the Senate floor.

We expected today to write about how the first bill being considered passed with broad bipartisan support – which it did – and perhaps would get the Legislature off to a cooperative start that might carry over into other, more contentious, issues. After all, House Republican Leader David Bowles told The Associated Press that there’s “no room for partisanship on this issue.”

The deal on heating aid stumbled, however, when the amendments were sprung on the Senate floor.

Nonetheless, the bill likely will be signed into law with only a short delay and with no damage being done, except maybe to the idea of a harmonious start to a legislative session.