House discusses Senate amendment to House File 2694 amid objections to continuing-resolution language

Representative Jay Wills, speaking for Dickinson, opened remarks on House File 2694 and told the chamber that the Senate had added continuing-resolution language to the bill. Wills said he did not favor that portion of the bill and offered to answer questions from colleagues.

Another member of the House argued that surrendering the legislature's annual budget-making responsibility by adopting continuing-resolution language would cede core authority and said he would support rejecting the amendment. "If we give that up, we are giving up so much of what makes this state great," the representative said, urging colleagues to reject the Senate's insertion.

On the floor, Representative Wills moved that the House concur in Senate Amendment H8438. In the same remarks he encouraged members to vote against the amendment, a procedural tension recorded in the transcript rather than a clear roll-call outcome on that specific amendment.

Later in the session the clerk recorded an order to message House File 2694 to the Senate; the transcript does not include a separate roll-call vote on H8438 in the segments provided.

The debate focused on the scope of budget authority and the use of continuing-resolution language, with members pressing on institutional responsibility rather than technical line items. No floor vote on the amendment itself appears in the provided segments; the record shows the House messaging House File 2694 to the Senate.