by By Karen Brooks and Philip Jankowski, HarperStaff Writers, Dallas Morning News
Austin For the first time in the two weeks since Democrats fled the state to obstruct congressional redistricting, the Texas House officially started its work Monday, sending the chamber into a state of frustrated inaction.
House Speaker Dustin Burrows started the committee process right away by referring a stack of bills after counting 120 members on the House floor, which is far more than the 100 required to form a quorum.
A new congressional redistricting proposal that might give Republicans five Democratic seats was one of those pieces of legislation. Legislation pertaining to abortion, disaster relief, and plans to control the state’s consumable hemp sector were among the others.
After the House gaveled in, Burrows stated, “This institution long predates us, even though the House has had a turbulent two weeks.” It will endure much longer than any of us. Issues change and representatives come and go, yet from the first session, this body has survived quorum breakdowns, wars, and economic downturns. It will endure this as well and continue to function as a chamber in which the minority has the right to be heard and the majority has the right to win.
When Texas House Democrats returned to Austin on Monday to resume their efforts at a political redistricting of the state’s congressional seats, they were celebrating their success.
Members of the House who had fled the state were told by Burrows to leave only with formal authorization from the House and under the care of Texas Department of Public Safety staff, who would make sure they returned when the chamber met again on Wednesday.
He advised members to maintain decorum and cautioned that the program will be demanding and hectic during the next weeks.
Burrows declared, “We’re done waiting.” The time to act is now.
A line of Democrats, including Reps. Toni Rose and Rafael Anch of Dallas, were welcomed as they poured into the House chamber by anti-redistricting demonstrators who lined the stairs outside the chamber just before the House convened at noon, virtually ensuring a quorum.
When Rep. Chris Turner, D-Arlington, returned to his desk for the first time since early August, he declared, “We’re here to continue the fight against these maps and get it into federal court.”In order to make sure he returns to the House for the congressional redistricting vote, Rep. Jon E. Rosenthal, D-Houston, swaps cell numbers with his designated DPS agent, who will follow him around for a few days. After returning to the state on Monday, at least 50 Democrats who had left to prevent the vote were given agents to ensure they continued to appear. Harper, Karen Brooks
Democrats gathered outside Burrows’ office to pick up their permission slips and meet their designated DPS agent thirty minutes after he opened the House session.
One politician overheard House Administration Chairman Charlie Geren, a Republican from Fort Worth, stating that the designated agent would be your closest friend.
On the House floor, Democrats and the DPS officers and agents they were assigned swapped cell phone numbers and attempted to arrange logistics, including whether the agent would visit home districts or simply communicate with local law enforcement to transfer possession.
Since August 4, when Democrats fled the state to thwart a partisan redistricting proposal, work in the Texas House had been at a stop. Burrows, R-Lubbock, adjourned a first extraordinary session early on Friday due to their absence. The same day, Governor Greg Abbott swiftly summoned a second special session.
According to the Texas House Democratic Caucus, their quorum-breaking departure from Texas, which prevented the chamber from having the two-thirds majority needed to conduct business, attracted global attention to Texas’s contentious redistricting battle. In an effort to offset potential Republican wins in Texas, a number of states—most notably California—have pursued congressional redistricting as a result of spreading their message.
