Texas House stalemate broken as 3 Houston Democrats end holdout, clearing way for work to resume

Updated at 8:03 pm with new comments throughout.

AUSTIN – Three Democrats broke from the ranks and returned to the Texas home Thursday, leaving the Republicans with enough members to resume work on a controversial electoral law and end a week-long stalemate.

A solemn silence fell over the room as the Houston Reps. Garnet Coleman, Armando Walle and Ana Hernandez entered the hall together. In a statement, the three said they were proud of the work they had done to bring the “struggle for the right to vote” to Washington, DC

“Now we’re going to continue the fight on the House Floor,” they said.

Their presence shocked many in their own party who, just hours earlier, were convinced that they could turn Governor Greg Abbott’s second special session inside out by continuing their boycott.

The remaining objecters did not immediately issue a statement, but several expressed dismay and surprise at the return of their colleagues.

Since mid-July, a majority of Democrats in the House of Representatives had refused to come to the Capitol in protest against the electoral law, which they denounced as voter suppression. Their absence forced the work to come to a standstill, as the house cannot conduct business without a quorum present.

At around 6 p.m. House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, hammered in the room. After a presence where 99 members were present – the bare minimum – he declared a quorum.

“That was a very long summer. We have been through a lot. I appreciate that you are all here, and I appreciate the members who have a quorum today, ”he said. “It’s time to get back to business in Texas.”

The members started to clap and some cheers broke out.

With enough House members in attendance, lawmakers signaled that they will be pushing not only the electoral law, but also the rest of the agenda for Abbott’s special sessions. The Republican governor drew up a 17-item list that includes funding border security, revising the state bail system, further restricting abortion drugs, and restricting sports teams that transgender students can play on.

The Republican-led Senate had already passed much of the agenda and sent the bills to the House of Representatives, where they stalled. There are just over two weeks left in the 30-day special session.

Rep. Jim Murphy, chairman of the Republican parliamentary group in the House of Representatives, said he believed lawmakers will be able to act on all Senate bills and he said the hearings should start as early as this weekend. He said he expected the House of Representatives to make changes to the electoral law but did not provide details.

“It’s like any other Senate law. It is subject to home improvement, ”said Murphy, R-Houston.

Republicans say the electoral law is necessary to ensure the integrity of the ballot papers. However, Democrats say the bill makes voting difficult and is fueled by former President Donald Trump’s false claims of widespread electoral fraud. It would ban 24-hour and drive-through voting, add new requirements for voting by mail, and extend protection to partisan election observers.

The Democrats in the House of Representatives twice changed the GOP electoral legislation by fleeing the Chamber. The first was in a strike at the end of the regular legislature in May. The second was on July 12, at the start of Abbott’s first special session, when they fled to Washington, DC, to pressure Congress to pass federal law on voting rights.

Since the start of the second special session on August 7, absent Democrats had stuck to a fragile agreement to comply with the wishes of the majority of their group. Most of them supported the continuation of the quorum break.

Several objecters took to social media Thursday to criticize their three returning colleagues.

“We had literally 2 hours on caucus calls this morning and none of the breakaway Democrats mentioned their plans to help Republicans pass election suppression laws. Guess what the other breakaway Democrats achieved by going back – NOTHING! ”Tweeted Richardson Democrat Ana-Maria Ramos.

However, MP Erin Zweiner said Coleman, Walle and Hernandez are “consistently guided by their values.”

“I believe you when you say that you believe you can do more good inside than outside. Those who share values ​​may disagree on tactics, ”Zweiner, D-Driftwood, said on Twitter.

It remains to be seen whether more Democrats will change their minds. Thirteen Democrats, including Rep. John Turner from Dallas, had either already returned to the House of Representatives or never left.

Coleman, Walle and Hernandez said the surge in coronavirus cases also played a role in their decision to return. The recent surge in cases comes when students return to school.

Coleman, the third-highest-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives, had one leg amputated in the spring. When he was driven to his seat in the back of the chamber, the legislators rushed to greet him.

In Thursday’s home call, Coleman prayed for members to find common ground.

“I pray that we love each other first,” he said, “and so something will actually change.”

Phelan then thanked him for returning.

“We missed you. We appreciate that you are here. Your love for this institution, your love for the House of Representatives, will never be forgotten, ”he said.

It was one of the few moments of collegiality in the last few weeks. Tensions flared up while the stalemate continued. Last week Phelan signed arrest warrants for 52 of the absent Democrats. Officials visited some members’ homes, but none were arrested. Now that there is a quorum, the remaining warrants are void.

While a House quorum typically requires 100 members, two seats are vacant, bringing that threshold down to 99. Jake Ellzey, R-Waxahachie, was elected to Congress. Leo Pacheco MP, D-San Antonio, tabled his resignation on Wednesday, which took effect Thursday, according to Phelan spokesman Enrique Marquez.

Some Democrats pointed out that not all of the members present were in attendance.

Murphy said people were in the House of Representatives during the day but could have been in their offices or in the back hall at the time of the vote. Attendance has been verified but no one has requested it.

“I think everyone is eager to get started,” Murphy said.

The House of Representatives hearings will begin this weekend, with a committee scheduled to meet on Saturday at 8:00 a.m. on electoral law and revision of bail legislation.

Lauren McGaughy, a contributor, contributed to this report from Austin.

[ad_1]