Speaker Phelan Signs Civil Arrest Warrants to Force Return of Absent Democrats

AUSTIN, TX -- Last night, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan officially signed civil arrest warrants for 52 House Democrats still absent for the second special session of the year. The move comes after the Texas House voted 80-12 on Tuesday to move forward with the arrests after the Texas Supreme Court overturned a district judge’s ruling that prevented the Speaker from calling for Democrats’ arrests. The civil warrants allow state law enforcement to take the member into custody and deliver them to the House chamber. However, the authority does not extend beyond state lines, and many Democrats remain in Washington D.C. or on vacation abroad. Today, the Texas House Sergeant-At-Arms began delivering the civil arrest warrants.

This procedure is allowed under the House Rules that were adopted unanimously at the beginning of the 87th Session, and a “Call of the House” is the only action the House may take until a quorum is established. However, it is viewed as an option of last resort and is controversial.

Texas House Rules of Procedure for the 87th Session:
Rule 5, Sec. 8. Securing a Quorum. When a call of the house is moved for one of the above purposes and seconded by 15 members (of whom the speaker may be one) and ordered by a majority vote, the main entrance to the hall and all other doors leading out of the hall shall be locked and no member permitted to leave the house without the written permission of the speaker. The names of members present shall be recorded. All absentees for whom no sufficient excuse is made may, by order of a majority of those present, be sent for and arrested, wherever they may be found, by the sergeant-at-arms or an officer appointed by the sergeant-at-arms for that purpose, and their attendance shall be secured and retained. The house shall determine on what conditions they shall be discharged. Members who voluntarily appear shall, unless the house otherwise directs, be immediately admitted to the hall of the house and shall report their names to the clerk to be entered in the journal as present Until a quorum appears, should the roll call fail to show one present, no business shall be transacted, except to compel the attendance of absent members or to adjourn. It shall not be in order to recess under a call of the house.

15 House Democrats were not issued warrants: Reps. Canales, Coleman, Dutton, Fierro, Mary Gonzalez, Guerra, Guillen, Herrero, Tracy King, Longoria, Lucio, Moody, Eddie Morales, Talarico, and John Turner. Representative Coleman has an excused absence due to health reasons, while the other Democrats were present this week on the House floor. Some of the returning Democratic members were chastised by their Democratic colleagues for returning to the House chamber. In one example, Rep. Ana-Maria Ramos (D-Dallas) publicly called out Reps. M. Gonzalez, Moody and Talarico on Twitter, posting a picture of the three Reps that had been taken on the House floor and posting “You all threw us under the bus today! Why?”

Despite the warrants being issued, the House was unable to secure a quorum today and is standing at ease until 4 p.m. on Thursday where they will try again to establish a quorum.

Senator Alvarado to (Symbolically) Filibuster Elections Bill – SB 1
Senator Carol Alvarado (D-Houston) announced late this afternoon that she would filibuster Senate Bill 1, the elections bill that has led to multiple quorum breaks by House Democrats throughout the Regular, 1st and 2nd-called sessions. The Legislature is on just the fifth day of a 30-day special legislative session, so the move will slow but not stop the bill from passing the Senate.

In announcing her intentions, Sen. Alvarado wrote: “Moments ago I submitted my intention to filibuster the voter suppression bill otherwise known as SB 1. I rise today not for approval or glory. In the end we may not be able to stop this bill at all. But I rise to speak against the bill because it is the right thing to do for my constituents. I rise to speak for the senior who needs assistance in order to exercise their right to vote. I speak for the people with disabilities as every barrier must be removed for their access to the polls. I speak for the Latino and African American communities that overwhelmingly embraced new and alternative ways to cast their vote. I speak for Harris County, that is being unfairly targeted for successfully innovating our elections during a pandemic to provide safe, secure and accessible electoral process.”

Governor and Legislative Leadership Extend Funding for Legislative Branch for Additional Month

Governor Abbott, Lt. Governor Patrick, Speaker Phelan, Senate Finance Chair Nelson and House Appropriations Committee Chair Bonnen announced an additional month of funding for the Texas Legislature. The current budget funds the Legislature through August 31, 2021, and Governor Abbott vetoed Article X that funded the legislature for two years beginning September 1. Funds amounting to at least $12.6 million will be transferred from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to the Senate, the House, and legislative agencies such as the LBB, the Legislative Council and the Legislative Reference Library to provide funding for their operations and pay for 2,100 legislative employees through September 30.

The moves buys time for the legislature to complete the 2nd-called special session, but legislators will still need to pass an appropriations bill to fund Article X by mid-September.

Texas Supreme Court Denies Democrats Request to Overturn Governor’s Veto of Article X
The Texas Supreme Court on Monday denied a request from several Democratic House members asking the justices to overturn Governor Abbott’s veto of legislative funding (Article X) in the upcoming two-year state budget.

Ruling: https://www.txcourts.gov/media/1452634/210538.pdf

In an unsigned opinion, the all-Republican court said the lack of funding for the legislative branch “continues to exist not because of a dispute between the Governor and the Legislature, nor even because of one between the Governor and a minority of House members.” “Rather, the principal dispute is among the members of the Legislature. Relators do not argue that the Legislature would have failed to pass Article X funding had they been present in the House to provide a quorum to do business. They argue only that Governor Abbott might veto the funding again if they did. This argument is entirely speculative.”

“This political dispute within the legislative branch is not an issue of separation of powers that we can decide,” the court said in its opinion.

Governor Abbott, DSHS Announce Deployment Of 2,500 Medical Personnel To Help Hospitals Mitigate Recent Rise In COVID-19 Cases

Governor Greg Abbott today announced that Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) has arranged for the deployment of more than 2,500 medical personnel to help hospitals care for the increasing number of COVID-19 patients across Texas. This operation follows the Governor's directive earlier this week that DSHS utilize staffing agencies to provide out-of-state medical personnel to Texas health care facilities to mitigate the surge of COVID-19 cases in Texas. This first deployment of personnel will be fully funded by the state through September 30.