Texas House Democrats deny a quorum as speaker signs arrest warrants statesman.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from statesman.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Austin American-Statesman
The Texas House voted Tuesday to send for the Democrats who left the state for Washington in a dramatic move intended to block the passage of a GOP priority elections bill using arrest warrants if needed to compel attendance.
Democrats officially broke quorum in the chamber on Tuesday, when the 150-member body convened just after 10 a.m. with only 80 members present. Of the 67 Democrats in the chamber, 63 were absent.
The remaining lawmakers voted 76-4 to authorize the issuance arrest warrants for absent members after a lack of quorum was established in the chamber. Members, the sergeant-at-arms and the officers appointed by him are directed to send for all absentees whose attendance is not excused for the purpose of securing and maintaining their attendance under warrant of arrest, if necessary, House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, said from the floor. Any member who wishes to leave the hall must have the written permission of the Speaker
What It Means To Break Quorum And What You Need To Know About The Texas House Democrats' Departure hppr.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from hppr.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Local Democrats not among contingent who fled to Washington
Local Democrats not among contingent who fled to Washington
and last updated 2021-07-13 19:42:32-04
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas â Of the more than 50 Texas Democratic lawmakers who walked out of the special legislative session Monday, none represent the Coastal Bend.
Rep. Ryan Guillen, who represents Brooks, Duval, Kenedy, and Live Oak Counties, was one of four Democrats on the House floor Tuesday. Rep. Abel Herrero, who represents part of Nueces Co., was not in Austin, but his absence was listed as excused.
Rep. Herrero, who was tending to business in the district Tuesday, issued a statement supporting his Democratic colleagues.
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A showdown in the Texas House was locked into place Tuesday after the chamber voted overwhelmingly to send law enforcement after Democrats who left the state a day earlier in protest of a GOP priority elections legislation.
That agenda, set by Gov. Greg Abbott, includes House Bill 3 and Senate Bill 1, the election legislation at hand that would make a number of changes to Texas’ voting system, such as banning drive-thru and 24 hour voting options and further restricting the state’s voting-by-mail rules. Over the weekend, both House and Senate committees advanced the election bills.