Here’s a quick recap of what happened over the last week:
House Democrats Flee the State
On Sunday, Texas House Democrats fled the state in an attempt to block passage of a new Congressional redistricting map intended to give the Republicans up to five additional seats in the Texas delegation. Currently, the Republicans have a 25-12 partisan advantage (one vacant seat) in the 38-member delegation. The newly proposed map that was set for floor debate on Monday is designed to elect as many as 30 Republicans in the delegation.
In the 150-member Texas House, 100 members must be present to establish a quorum, which is required to convene and conduct business. Republicans currently hold an 88-62 advantage. It has been reported that at least 51 of the 62 Democrats have left the state to deny a quorum for the House to convene. Most House Democrats have gone to Chicago, with others in New York and a few in Boston at the annual meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Democrats have been extremely critical of the proposed redistricting plan that they say not only is a mid-term power grab by Republicans but also eliminates districts that are now represented by minority members thus suppressing the votes of people of color. With near super majorities in both legislative chambers, fleeing the state to deny a quorum in the House is the only option the Democrats have to try and stop the redistricting proposals. Even with that and the fact that Democrats have committed to stay away as long as necessary, Gov. Abbott has said he will continue to call lawmakers back for more special sessions until the redistricting proposal is passed.
There is now a little over a week left in the current 30-day special session, which is scheduled to end on August 19th. If the Democrats stay out of the state for the remainder of the session, other legislative issues will also die including any legislation or funding to provide relief and assist in recovery efforts for those affected by the July 4th floods in the Hill Country.
Arrest Warrants Issued
When the House convened on Monday afternoon, there were 94 members present, short of the 100 needed to convene and proceed with legislative business. Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows immediately put a “call” on the House – a demand for all absent members to return – and moved forward with the issuance of civil arrest warrants for all absent members.
Gov. Abbott then directed the Department of Public Safety to locate, arrest, and return the absent members to the House chamber. The warrants and directive allow law enforcement officers to locate and compel members to return to Austin, but the members are not subject to criminal arrest. Furthermore, state law enforcement officers are not authorized to go out of state to bring back any absent Democrat.
Late yesterday, AG Ken Paxton filed suit in the state of Illinois to ask officials in that state to enforce the arrest warrants that have been issued for the absent Democrats. The warrants are only enforceable in the state of Texas. In his lawsuit, Paxton is invoking the “full faith and credit” clause of the US Constitution that says states should honor each other’s judicial proceedings. States will typically enforce judgements and comply with extradition orders from other states but are not necessarily required to do so legally in certain circumstances. Illinois is a heavily Democratic state, and it is unlikely that the lawsuit is going to be successful. Furthermore, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has publicly stated he will fully protect the Democratic House members while they are in his state.
This is the second quorum break by Democrats in the last four years. In 2021, Democrats fled to Washington, DC during the first called special session to try and block passage of a comprehensive rewrite of the state Election Code that they deemed to place unnecessary restrictions on existing voting procedures. Then, the Democrats were able to delay the bill for one special session but eventually returned to Austin voluntarily. Upon their return, the voting related measure passed easily.
Abbott Asks for Removal of Democratic Leader
On Tuesday, Gov. Abbott asked the Texas Supreme Court to remove state Rep. Gene Wu from office for his role in leading the Democrats out of state to break quorum. Wu is the House Democratic Caucus Chair. As reason for going directly to the state Supreme Court, Abbott cited a nonbinding 2021 opinion from AG Ken Paxton that said the AG’s office does not have unilateral authority to remove elected legislators from office. The opinion was in response to the Democrats leaving the state in 2021 to try and block a voting restrictions bill.
AG Ken Paxton immediately responded to Abbott’s lawsuit saying the Governor does not have the authority to make such a request. Paxton cited precedent by the Supreme Court that states a lawsuit of this type can only be brought forth by the state Attorney General, a county attorney, or a district attorney. Paxton goes on to say that the state constitution is clear in stating the AG must represent the state “in all suits and pleas in the Supreme Court of the State”. Paxton also stated that enforcing any type of state warrant or law would be difficult to enforce while they are out of state under an alternate jurisdiction.
Abbott has made no counter response to Paxton. However, it is important that while Abbott may have no standing to bring forth this lawsuit, this lawsuit may have more life than Paxton and most legal experts may think. Abbott has asked the Court to make a ruling by yesterday, and the Justices have given Wu until Friday to respond.
All nine members of the state Supreme Court are Republicans. Six of the nine were appointed by Abbott. (NOTE: All Supreme Court Justices are elected statewide, but any vacancy in one of the nine positions is appointed by the Governor). So, the fact remains that while Supreme Court Justices are elected to interpret and rule on state law, they also must consider their political futures when making rulings.
Beto Investigated for Funding Exodus
AG Ken Paxton also announced this week that he is launching an investigation into former Senatorial and gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke for his role in aiding the exodus of the House Democrats. Specifically, the AG is looking into Powered by People, the PAC that is used to fund O’Rourke’s political agenda and activities.
A spokesman for the PAC has acknowledged that the organization paid for upfront costs for travel including arranging and paying for the private jet that took the members out of state as well as the lodging while they are in Illinois. Paxton has indicated that the acceptance of these benefits could be considered a bribe since the members are reaping a benefit in exchange for their actions regarding specific legislation. Paxton said he will examine the specific communications between representatives of the PAC and the Democratic House members.
Bomb Threat at Democrats’ Hotel
On Wednesday, the hotel where the Democrats are staying in St. Charles – a suburb of Chicago – was evacuated due to a bomb threat. Law enforcement officers confirmed the threat on Wednesday morning and evacuated all guests. Officials did not give any further details other than to say the threat was credible and the guests were evacuated as a precaution. No device was ever found, and guests were allowed to return to the hotel in a short period of time. Through Caucus chair Rep. Gene Wu, the Democrats issued a statement saying, “we are safe, secure, and undeterred.”
House Hearing on Flood Related Proposals
Lost in the controversy of the quorum break this week was the fact that this special session was initially called to address and create remedies for the devastating floods that occurred in the Texas Hill Country on July 4th.
On Wednesday, the House Special Committee on Disaster Preparedness and Relief met in Austin to consider and review bills that have been filed in response to the recent disaster. Proposed legislation incudes the requirement for camps to establish disaster preparation plans, emergency response coordination between local and state entities, and safeguards to ensure relief organizations accepting donations are legitimate. Committee members vowed to continue to study and develop a proper legislative response that will be ready when the House finally achieves a quorum and can fully pass legislation.
Members of the committee lamented the fact that not only were the camps caught off guard by the flooding, but the local officials were also not responsive in a timely manner. The fact that first responders were not able to communicate due to operability issues was also discussed as an issue that must be addressed, along with the lack of preparation and readiness on behalf of the camps and local officials.
Committee members were also frustrated the Governor’s office sent no one to the hearing to answer questions and give updates on the recovery.
Senate Approves Anti Trans Bill
While the Democrats in the House are away, the Senate is moving forward with legislation. On Tuesday the Senate approved Senate Bill 7, a proposal to address the use of bathrooms by trans individuals. The measure prohibits any individual from entering a restroom or locker room that is designed for the opposite biological sex. The proposal applies to all state agencies, public school districts, public universities, prisons, and women’s abuse shelters. Proponents of the legislation say it is necessary to protect women and reinstate necessary boundaries in public settings. Opponents claim the measure will increase the risk of violence against gender confused individuals and that there are more pressing measures from which this is a distraction.
The measure passed with 19 votes, all Republicans. Ten Democratic members of the Senate were absent for the debate.
Proposal to Eliminate STAAR Exam
Lawmakers in both chambers this week introduced legislation to eliminate the state’s standardized test, a proposal that nearly passed during the regular session. Many parents for years have criticized the end of year exam that is used to grade the progress of students, saying the test puts undue pressure on students and teachers are only focusing on the exam.
The proposed measures would replace the one-time exam with three tests to be administered during the school year. The goal is to be able to gauge a student’s progress at different times during the year so any issues can be addressed as the year progresses. Similar proposals were passed during the session but ultimately failed to get out of conference committee due to disagreements on grading procedures and accountability measures for school districts with failing test scores.
Political Notes
With all the elected officials jockeying for attention grabbing headlines regarding the quorum break, it was a slow week on the elections and political front. But there were a few items.
Former Governor Rick Perry – who served from 2001-2014 – endorsed incumbent US Senator John Cornyn in his primary race against AG Ken Paxton. No surprise here. Perry is part of the “old guard”, moderate wing of the Republican Party and Paxton represents the much more conservative and activist faction of the party.
State Senate District 9 candidate Leigh Wambsganns of Fort Worth continues to rack up the endorsements in the special election to succeed the departed Senator Kelly Hancock who resigned to assume the role as interim state Comptroller. Wambsganns has received the endorsement of Lt. Governor Dan Patrick and can now tout nods from Texans for Lawsuit Reform and Texans United for a Conservative Majority. Former Southlake Mayor John Huffman is also in the race. The district is based in Tarrant County and is solidly red, assuring the election of a Republican in the special election.
What’s Next??
The news this week was completely dominated by the departure of the House Democrats and the inability of the House to conduct business due to a lack of a quorum.
The news I have given you is up to date as of this morning and will certainly change throughout the day and weekend.
The House is scheduled to convene at 1PM today, when the Speaker will once again try to establish a quorum to conduct business. If there is not a quorum, then I’m certain state leaders will increase the pressure on Democrats to return.
I’ll keep you all updated throughout the weekend on any and all developments.