Three Texas Democrats return to state Capitol, ending standoff

(The Center Square) – The Texas House can resume business after Speaker Dade Phelan said late Thursday the legislative chamber met its quorum after a 37-day stand-off by Democrats stalled the entire first and part of a second special legislative session called by Gov. Greg Abbott.

In early August, Abbott called a second special legislative session and said he would continue to do so until more than 50 Democratic lawmakers who fled the state returned and the legislature could conduct legislative business.

Three previously AWOL Houston Democrats returned to Austin Thursday – Reps. Garnet Coleman, Ana Hernandez and Armondo Walle – allowing the House to make quorum.

They and their colleagues said they left the state in an attempt to thwart Abbott and the legislature from passing election reforms that would standardize voting protocols – including early voting – statewide and persuade the Democratic-controlled U.S. Congress to pass H.R. 1, controversial legislation that seeks to federalize many aspects of elections nationwide.

The trio released a statement saying they were finally ready to “move past these partisan legislative calls, and to come together to help our state mitigate the effects of the current COVID-19 surge by allowing public health officials to do their jobs, provide critical resources for school districts to conduct virtual learning when necessary, while also ensuring schools are a safe place for in-person instruction.”

While Coleman, Hernandez and Walle said their efforts in Washington, D.C. were “successful and served as the primary catalyst to push Congress to take action on federal voter protection legislation,” The Houston Chronicle reported otherwise.

H.R. 1, a massive federalization of voting in national elections, was thwarted by Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz n a move The Houston Chronicle described as “delivering a blow to Texas Democrats who had remained in D.C. to press the Senate to vote on the bills before leaving Washington for summer recess.”

The bill “would constitute a federal government takeover of elections,” Cruz said. “It would constitute a massive power grab by Democrats, it would disenfranchise millions of Americans and it would do precisely the opposite of its nominal title For The People, it is instead for the politicians because it entrenches politicians and ensures that the people cannot vote them out of office.”

Prior to returning to Austin, the House Democratic Caucus lost two cases with the Texas Supreme Court. Their latest plan involved suing Abbott for $5 claiming his call for their arrest caused them “anxiety.”

Phelan signed arrest warrants for the 52 absent Democratic lawmakers, which were served Aug. 11. None were arrested or brought by law enforcement to the House chamber.

The three Democrats returning to the House chamber brought the total number of required members present needed for quorum for the House to begin conducting business. At 6 p.m. Thursday, Phelan, R-Beaumont, said a quorum was present.

Abbott prioritized 17 legislative items to be addressed by the legislature during special session. Among them is bail reform, an issue of significance to Houstonians whose homicide rate has increased by over 90% since 2019. Crime has escalated in part to several district judges in Harris County releasing repeat offenders into the community, bail reform advocates say. Minority communities have been hit hard, and have called on the governor to do something about increased crime in the nation’s fourth largest city.

State Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, criticized the trio’s decision to return to Austin, tweeting, “This could have been shared with Caucus members beforehand.”

Rep. Ana-Maria Ramos also tweeted, “we were literally on caucus calls for 2 hours this morning and none of the defecting Democrats mentioned they were planning on helping the Republicans pass voter suppression bills. Guess what the other defecting Democrats have accomplished by going back – NOTHING!”

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who leads the Senate, which has been in attendance for the entirety of both special sessions over the last 37 days, welcomed the Democrats. He said, “The Texas Senate welcomes the House to the 87th Second Called Special Session.”

Prior to their decision to return, he said, “Texas Democrats had abandoned Texans, vacationed in D.C. and Europe and taxpayers paid the price.

“Unlike the Texas House Democrats, the Texas Senate shows up for work and puts the people of Texas first. Whether in Washington, D.C., or vacationing in Europe, the Dems have yet to do anything other than waste Texas taxpayers’ money.”

After Phelan said a quorum was present, a messenger from the Senate dropped off bills that senators had already passed. The bills have now been referred to House committees for action.

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