The first called special session is well underway, with bills and resolutions filed as of this date. Many of those bills are variations on a theme: flood warnings and prevention, regulation/banning of THC products, and redistricting. These three subjects represent the lion’s share of what has been filed so far.
The bill filings keep coming, though. We are at day 21 of our 30-day special session. Keep in mind, if they don’t complete their work (to the Governor’s satisfaction), he will simply call them back to begin all over again. A new special session requires that bills be filed once again, so they “kind of” have to start from scratch—but only in the sense that bills filed during one special session don’t carry over to the next and must once again go through the process from introduction, referral, and hearing, etc. The plan going forward (as of this morning) is that the House and Senate will meet this coming Friday, 15, they will Sine Die this special session, and the Governor will immediately call the next special session.
We are in the eighth day of at least 51 House Democrats leaving the floor and denying a quorum. The purpose is to stymie a mid-term redistricting map that adds five new Republican seats—this at the direct request of the White House, apparently fearing a typical mid-term incumbent blowback and potential loss of an already razor-thin majority in the U.S. House. Both Governor Abbott and Attorney General Paxton have spent considerable time in front of cameras threatening retribution with lawsuits, potential loss of members’ House seats, arrest, etc. Senator Cornyn even requested help from the FBI. Not sure what they would do, given no laws have been broken. The only offense these House members have committed is a civil offense.
Quorum requirements are common in almost all organized decision-making bodies. They are a fundamental component of parliamentary procedure. Per Robert’s Rules of Order: “The minimum number of members who must be present at the meeting of a deliberative assembly for business to be validly transacted is the quorum of the assembly. The requirement of a quorum is protection against totally unrepresentative action in the name of the body by an unduly small number of persons.” —Robert’s Rules of Order, 12th edition. You may not agree with the reasons behind the quorum break, but it is allowed within normal parliamentary rules.
There were three public hearings in the larger metro areas of the state on the redistricting request from the White House. The President said he wanted five new Republican-dominated seats in Texas, and the legislature is attempting to oblige him. The public hearings were “contentious”—that may be an understated description—but they were, needless to say, well attended by interested constituents. One of the interesting aspects of the public hearings was that there were no maps available for either the committee members or the public to review. Maps have since been produced, which do indeed create five new Republican-dominated districts. Whether these new seats will actually produce five additional Republican congressional members is another matter. The census data used to create these new seats is five years old. There are always lawsuits during redistricting—expect lawsuits if and when any of these maps or new districts are adopted. The courts will step in and, well, I’m sure everything will work out wonderfully… well-laid plans and all.
The Senate has once again passed a complete ban on THC products. Readers might recall that the Governor vetoed a similar bill less than one month ago. The House has yet to have a hearing on the THC issue, but I am sure they will take it up one day next week. What the House might do is anyone’s guess. The grassroots efforts that influenced the Governor’s action have not suddenly diminished in the last two weeks, so I assume those who feel strongly about this subject will continue to make sure House members know how they feel.
And, oh yes, if you did not read all of the previous paragraph—the Governor vetoed a bill that banned THC. He has specifically outlined his thoughts as to where he thinks the efforts should be directed. And if you did not read the last two paragraphs, he is against a complete ban and vetoed the last bill that crossed his desk stipulating one.
Throw in some abortion-related bills, flood control, banning municipalities from hiring lobbyists, and who knows what else might be on the next call. One thing we can probably count on: there will be some new congressional maps, and there will be lawsuits challenging those maps. Of that I am certain.
—TWGGA Legislative Advocate Kyle Frazier