All four opposition parties — the Center Party, the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE), Isamaa and the Social Democrats (SDE) — each proposed suspending the second reading. That motion failed 47–50 in the 101-seat chamber.

The bill's passage followed warnings from SDE chair Lauri Läänemets that Estonia could end up without a state budget, after the opposition's amendments — including €20 million for special care services against the €7.47 million the Finance Committee added — went unheeded (link in Estonian).

Revenues are forecast at €19.4 billion, expenditures at nearly €20.2 billion and investments at nearly €1.2 billion, with 95 amendments submitted and three partially accepted.

Debate on the amendments ahead of the second vote began around 4 p.m. with a report from the Finance Committee and concluded shortly before 1 a.m. The committee itself proposed one multi-part amendment covering adjustments within and between ministries' areas of responsibility, and another allocating an additional €7.47 million from the government reserve to improve the availability and quality of special care services.

The bill passed its first reading in mid-October. Amendments are open until 5.15 p.m. on Wednesday, November 25, ahead of the third and final reading; only cosmetic changes such as fixing typos are permitted between second and third readings. The state budget act usually passes as one of the Riigikogu's final acts before it breaks for winter recess, which this year begins on Thursday, December 17.

Wednesday's sitting continued with the auditor general's annual review and further readings of draft legislation, and ran into Thursday morning.

The Reform-Eesti 200 administration is a minority government meaning if all opposition and independent MPs voted against the state budget's third reading, it would not pass.

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