AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Texas House Democrats again broke quorum Tuesday, with a total of 95 members present — two fewer than Monday’s session.
House Speaker Dustin Burrows made the announcement from the dais that if the House still does not have quorum by Friday, the legislature will sine die, or conclude the session, and that the governor will call another special session of the legislature.
Gov. Greg Abbott announced shortly after that if the legislature does sine die on Friday, he is prepared to call another special session immediately. In a news release, the governor said the second special session will have the exact same 18-item agenda as the current session we are in. That includes redistricting and flood response.
“There will be no reprieve for the derelict Democrats who fled the state and abandoned their duty to the people who elected them. I will continue to call special session after special session until we get this Texas first agenda passed,” Abbott said in the release.
Tuesday marks the ninth day of the quorum break. House Democrats have fled the state to halt business in the legislature and protest the proposed Republican congressional redistricting, which aims to draw as many as five new Republican seats ahead of the midterms.
Burrows has signed civil arrest warrants for absent Democrats, and state officials have sent Department of Public Safety troopers to track down any members who may be in the state. Attorney General Ken Paxton has also filed lawsuits seeking to remove several members from their seats.
House Bill 4, the new maps, was on the supplemental House calendar for Tuesday’s session.
The graphic below reflects which Democrats were present at each session of the House since the quorum break began. It has been updated with Tuesday’s attendance.