The Texas Tribune
The fallout of Democrats’ Austin exodus to stop a proposed voting restrictions bill has begun.
On Tuesday, the Texas House voted overwhelmingly to send law enforcement after Democrats. The impact of the move is unclear, since Texas law enforcement lacks jurisdiction in Washington, D.C., where state Democrats have gone to discuss national voting rights legislation. State Rep. Jim Murphy, a Houston Republican who chairs the House GOP Caucus, acknowledged that state authorities can’t force Democrats to return.
“We want them to come back — that’s our message,” Murphy said.
The Democrats’ move also impacts other divisive Republican measures that had been expected to pass in the special legislative session. These include bills to restrict pretrial release from jail, ban the teaching of critical race theory in schools and prohibit transgender public school students from competing on sports teams that match their gender identity. It also left in jeopardy more widely supported measures, like restoring the vetoed salaries for more than 2,100 legislative employees.
“From the beginning, the governor designed this special session to suppress Texans’ civil liberties,” Sarah Labowitz, policy director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, said in a statement. “The walkout is a drastic action in direct response to the governor’s refusal to listen to his constituents or address the real needs of Texans.”
Still confused about what’s going on? Here’s a quick breakdown of what all of this means.
What does it mean to break quorum? A quorum is the minimum number of members required for a governing body to conduct official business. In the Texas Legislature, two-thirds of the elected members constitute a quorum in each chamber. That means 100 members of the 150-seat House must be present.
What happens if there aren’t enough members present? With at least 51 out of 67 House Democrats absent, there will not be enough members present to conduct business as usual under House rules. Their departure not only impedes the voting restrictions legislation, but also the ten other conservative priority items Gov. Greg Abbott slated for the special session, such as legislation on abortion, critical race theory and transgender student athletes.
Can members who fled the state be arrested? Abbott has also vowed to go as far as arresting the Democratic lawmakers and calling as many special sessions as necessary. But Democrats are outside Texas law enforcement jurisdiction. Plus, Randall Erben, an adjunct professor at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law, doesn’t believe House members would face arrest or criminal charges. He said they would likely face being “detained and returned to the Capitol” so the House could achieve a quorum.
