The Texas House of Representatives attained a quorum Thursday evening for the first time in more than a month after three Houston-area Democrats returned to the chamber, adding to the 14 who had already returned last week.
The Democrat returnees joined 82 Republicans in pushing the chamber to the threshold of 99 members needed for a quorum.
The group represents only about a quarter of the chamber’s 67 Democrats, some of whom remain in Washington, DC. The absentee Democrats left the state July 12 to protest an election bill that they say will make it too hard to vote.
Their absence prevented the lower chamber from passing bills during the 30-day special session that ended Friday, August 6.
But Governor Greg Abbott immediately called a second special session that began August 7, the day after the first special session had ended. The back-to-back sessions presented Democrats with a choice of continuing their exile or returning to the floor.
About a dozen Democrats returned to the chamber on August 9, the first weekday of the new session, leaving the House just shy of a quorum. Every day since then, the House has convened without being able to do anything. The speaker has gaveled in, a member has offered an opening prayer, and then lawmakers milled about for a while before going home.
But things went differently Thursday after Rep. Garnet Coleman was wheeled into the chamber by Armando Walle, accompanied by Ana Hernandez—all Houston Democrats. Coleman had been absent from the chamber not just because of the quorum break but on account of an illness that had required his leg to be amputated.
He offered the opening invocation, saying, “This is my prayer… we have to know what our responsibilities are, and we have to work to move something in the direction where we want to to be, and that has a lot to do with civility.”
“I pray that we all look inside about where we want this world to go, this state, this House, and look at it from the perspective of trying to find as much common ground as can be found.”
After that he was applauded and Speaker Dade Phelan remarked to him from the dais, “Mr. Coleman, we missed you. We appreciate you being here. Your love of this institution, your love of the House of Representatives will never, ever be forgotten.”
Phelan then proceeded to take a roll call vote, which showed 99 members present. “A quorum is now present,” the speaker said for the first time in 38 days.
The House normally has a quorum requirement of 100 but due to two vacancies, one of which became effective today, that number dropped to 99. Rep Leo Pacheco (D-San Antonio), resigned to take a teaching position at San Antonio College, and Rep. Jake Ellzey (R-Waxahachie) vacated his seat in July after winning a special Congressional election.
Coleman, Walle, and Hernandez also released a joint statement saying, “We are proud of the heroic work and commitment we and our fellow Democratic caucus members have shown in breaking quorum in May and again this summer.”
“We took the fight for voting rights to Washington, DC and brought national attention to the partisan push in our state to weaken ballot access… Now, we continue the fight on the House floor.”
According to Rep. Donna Howard (D-Austin), the Houston Democrats’ plan to return had not been shared beforehand with fellow Democrat caucus members.
The other Democrats who have returned since last week are Terry Canales (Edinburg), Harold Dutton (Houston), Art Fierro (El Paso), Mary González (Clint), Bobby Guerra (Mission), Ryan Guillen (Rio Grande City), Abel Herrero (Robstown), Tracy King (Batesville), Oscar Longoria (Mission), Eddie Lucio III (Brownsville), Joe Moody (El Paso), Eddie Morales Jr (Eagle Pass), James Talarico (Round Rock), and John Turner (Dallas).
Many of those legislators represent border districts that historically were Democrat strongholds but have grown more competitive in recent election cycles. Several of them had gone to Washington and returned, while others never left the state.
With a quorum attained, the challenge now for the chamber’s GOP leadership will be whether the House can keep a quorum as it presses forward with the session agenda.
Some of the issues on the agenda are uncontroversial, such as restoring funding for the legislature, which the governor vetoed. But also on the agenda are the election bill that prompted the Democrat walkout in the first place, a bill targeting social media companies, an overhaul of the state’s bail system, and a bill restricting student athletes born male from participating in girls’ sports.
Some Democrats in Washington have lashed out at their colleagues who returned to Austin. “These Democrats on the floor today chose to participate in voter suppression,” said Rep. Ana Maria-Ramos (Richardson) in a tweet last Monday. “You all threw us under the bus.”
Likewise, Jasmine Crockett (Dallas) seethed at the returnees for not being “team players,” saying they were “trying to please the governor and his oppressive agenda.
Erin Zwiener, a Driftwood Democrat, was a little more understanding. She said, “Serving with Ana, Walle, and Garnet has taught me that they are consistently guided by their values. I believe them when they say that they believe they can do more good on the House floor than off of it. Those who share values can disagree on tactics.”
After tonight’s roll call, the House was able to refer bills to committees, a procedural step that hadn’t been possible without a quorum. The committee hearings are expected to get started over the weekend, with the chamber convening again Monday at 4 pm.
Before gaveling out, Speaker Phelan said, “This has been a very long summer, we’ve been through a lot. I appreciate you all being here. And I appreciate the members who made quorum today. It’s time to get back to the business of the people of Texas. I appreciate every one of you, I’m look forward to working with every one of you over the coming week or two.”
