Debate over illegal immigration legislation in Indiana ended in a walkout.

Indiana House Republicans walked off the floor Thursday night. They claim Democrats stopped them from making amendments.

The House Public Policy Committee approved the bill Monday after making changes, changes that Republicans say weakened the bill.

The legislation would penalize businesses which knowingly hire illegal immigrants.

So Republicans tried to amend it Thursday night, but that didn't happen. And that's not sitting well with one local lawmaker.

"He's gotten very czar-like, like you know, 'It's my way or the highway.' I've never seen him act that way," said Republican Rep. Jackie Walorski of House Speaker B. Pat Bauer.

Walorski claims Bauer broke house rules by denying them a right to vote on the bill. It’s something Bauer says is simply not true.

"If someone says you broke a rule, you can appeal. The majority of the House votes to whether you were correct. I was correct. It's part of process," Bauer said.

Some Republicans say they wanted to include provisions that would stop illegal immigrants from receiving state assistance.

"Like no benefits for illegal immigrants. No in-state tuition for illegal immigrants," explained House Minority Leader Brian Bosma on the House floor.

But Bauer and other Democrats say those provisions are racist.

"You don't have to punish the children for instance by saying if one got hit by a car they couldn't be helped. You could punish if a company is getting rich by giving very poor wages to people that they could take advantage of," said Bauer.

When the two sides couldn't agree on a compromise, Republicans walked out. Two hours later, Bauer declared the chamber was in recess until Monday.

"You know we'll probably continue this discussion on are we going to be allowed to debate and vote or are we not," said Walorski.

"We'll see if they come back, we'll see if they participate and if they don't, I would say not only this bill is dead, but a lot of other things will be dead," said Bauer.

There's a lot of pressure on lawmakers to reach a compromise on immigration and other pending legislation. That's because there's a deadline next week for bills to clear both chambers.