- The
Texas House of Representatives reached a quorum on Thursday evening and can once again do business. - State Democrats broke the quorum in May to prevent
voting legislation from passing. - The legislature will now begin deliberating on Gov. Abbott's second special session agenda.
The Texas House of Representatives officially met quorum Thursday night over a month after state House Democrats fled the state in an attempt to prevent a GOP voting law from passing.
The Texas Constitution states that each chamber of the legislature must have two-thirds of its members present to do business. Enough house Democrats walked out of the house chamber at the end of the regular legislative session in May to break the quorum and prevent a GOP voting bill from passing.
-Taylor Goldenstein (@taygoldenstein) August 19, 2021
Gov. Greg Abbott declared a special legislative session soon after, but a large coalition of house Democrats had already fled from the state to Washington, DC, in July to petition congressional leaders into passing election reform to no avail. Still, it was enough to prevent the house from ever meeting quorum and passing legislation in the first special session.
Abbott began a second special session on August 7, leading Speaker of the House Dade Phelan to issue a "Call of the House" order commanding representatives to return to the chamber at risk of detainment. No Democrats were ever arrested and each reentered the chamber of their own volition.
Now that a quorum in the house has been restored, the state legislature will begin debating and voting on legislation that fits Abbott's second session agenda which includes:
- Election and voting reform
- Prohibits drive-through voting
- Bans 24-hour voting sites
- Prevents counties from sending out absentee ballots without a request
- Lowers the threshold to overturn and challenge election results
- Banning transgender children from playing on a school sports team that corresponds with their gender identity
- Banning critical race theory from being taught
- Re-funding the legislature and legislative staff