Senate adopts technical amendment and passes bill funding judicial officers

Senator Roberts moved and the Senate adopted a technical third‑reading amendment to Senate Bill 24 and then passed the bill on final reading.

Senate Bill 24, sponsored by Senator Roberts and others, concerns judicial officers and includes an appropriation. On third reading Roberts asked permission to offer a technical amendment to correct dates and two numeric references. "This amendment would fix just a couple dates. These are very minor changes and change the number 20 to the number 19," Roberts said on the floor. The body granted permission and subsequently adopted Amendment L10 by voice vote; the Senate recorded the adoption with a roll call of 33 ayes, 0 no, 0 absent, 1 excused and 1 vacant for L10.

The amendment L10 makes technical changes in two places in the engrossed bill, replacing a 2027 date with 2026 and substituting the number 19 for the number 20. After the amendment's adoption, Roberts renewed her motion for final passage. A senator on the floor urged colleagues to consider the state's larger budget picture and said they would cast a "very uncomfortable" no vote as a fiscal signal while describing the state's "$1,000,000,000 plus shortfall." That senator framed the vote as a message about priorities but did not object to the amendment itself.

On final passage the Senate recorded 26 ayes, 7 no, 0 absent, 1 excused and 1 vacant; the bill was passed. The Senate listed multiple cosponsors on the measure during the vote announcement.

The bill text as amended and the adopted amendment L10 were presented on the floor; the record shows the amendment corrected two date/number references and that Senate Bill 24 then passed on final reading.