After warning Democrat lawmakers to return to the Texas Capitol by Friday or face legal consequences, Attorney General Ken Paxton has followed through by filing a lawsuit in the Texas Supreme Court seeking to declare the seats of 13 Democrat House members vacant.
In the petition, Paxton argues that by fleeing the state and refusing to attend the ongoing special session in protest of a congressional redistricting proposal, the members have abandoned their offices. He cites their own public statements confirming the intent to block legislative business as evidence of “willful refusal to perform their duties.”
“These cowards deliberately sabotaged the constitutional process and violated the oath they swore to uphold,” said Paxton. “Their out-of-state rebellion cannot go unchecked, and the business of Texas must go on.”
The 13 Democrats named in the petition include State Reps. Ron Reynolds, Vikki Goodwin, Gina Hinojosa, James Talarico, Lulu Flores, Mihaela Plesa, Suleman Lalani, Chris Turner, Ana-Maria Ramos, Jessica Gonzalez, John Bucy, Gene Wu, and Christina Morales. Sources tell Texas Scorecard similar action could be taken against other absent Democrats in the coming days.
The Texas Constitution requires 100 of the 150 members, or two-thirds, to be present in order to conduct business. On Friday, only 95 were in attendance.
During a brief meeting of the House Friday afternoon, Speaker Dustin Burrows noted that he and Paxton were working to domesticate civil arrest warrants in Illinois and were in contact with law enforcement there. He also stated that 30 percent of each absent member’s monthly operating budget will now be withheld, and their paychecks must be collected in-person at the Capitol rather than by direct deposit.
The House is set to reconvene on Monday. With the special session ending August 19, Gov. Greg Abbott has already signaled he will call another session if Democrats don’t return.
Also on Friday, Paxton filed a lawsuit against Robert “Beto” O’Rourke and his Powered by People organization for allegedly funding Democrat quorum-breakers, which he says could amount to bribery.
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