Texas Governor Greg Abbott has threatened to remove Democrat legislators from office if the do not return Austin in order to vote on new congressional boundaries.
In a written statement, Abbott said, “Instead of doing their jobs and voting on urgent bills affecting all Texans’ lives, they fled Texas in order to deny the House the quorum needed to conduct business.”
“This truancy is over now,” he added. The Democrat House members who have abandoned Texas must be present when the House reconvenes on Monday, August 4th 2025 at 3:00 pm. If a member fails to comply, I will invoke Texas Attorney-General Opinion No. “KP-0382 will remove any missing Democrats from the Texas House.”
Gov. Greg Abbott told Texas House Democrats on Sunday night that he will try to remove them from office if the Democrats do not return Austin to vote for the GOP’s new proposed congressional maps.
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Abbott wrote in a note to the members that “this truancy is over now.” “The Democrat House Members who have abandoned Texas must return and attend the House’s reconvening at 3:00 pm on Monday, August 4th 2025.”
Abbott stated that if they do not return by then he will take legal action to remove the lawmakers from office. He cited an opinion by Attorney General Ken Paxton from 2021, which said that a court would decide whether or not a legislator who left the state in order to deny quorum forfeited his office. Paxton’s 2021 legal opinion said that if a court ruled that legislators had left their seats, Abbott could fill them with his own appointees.
Abbott also claimed that members who raise money to pay for the $500 fine each will accrue per day they are absent from Austin during session could be charged with felony. Abbott claimed that lawmakers who “solicite funds to avoid the fines” they will face under House rules may be breaking bribery laws. Anyone who donates could be held liable.
Read the full text of his letter.
GOVERNOR GREG ABBOTT
August 3, 2020
Real Texans don’t run away from a fight. That’s what the majority of Texas House Democrats did. Instead of doing their jobs and voting on important legislation that affects the lives of Texans in general, they fled Texas and deprived the House of quorum needed to conduct business.
These absences were not just unintended interruptions of public service due to illness or family emergencies. These absences were not accidental or unavoidable, like a sudden illness or family emergency. They were planned for an illegal purpose, which one representative called “breaking the quorum”. Another had previously indicated that Democrats would have to take “an extreme measure” to stop these bills.
This is equivalent to abandoning or forfeiting an elected office in the state. Our Constitution states that when the Governor calls a special session, the “Legislature must meet.” CONST. art. Art. It is not optional. It’s not optional. It’s a duty. Both sides of the aisle legislators find themselves on losing side every session. Every session, the majority of these legislators manage to agreeably disagree and act like adults rather than go AWOL.
This truancy is over. The Democrat House members who have abandoned Texas must be present when the House reconvenes on Monday, August 4th 2025 at 3:00 pm. If a member fails to comply, I will invoke Texas Attorney-General Opinion No. The missing Democrats will be removed from the Texas House under KP-0382. In this Opinion, Attorney General examined “whether Texas law permits a determination that an elected legislator has vacated their office” if the legislator intentionally breaks quorum. The Attorney General stated that “whether or not a specific legislator abandoned their office in such a way that a vacant occurred is a factual question that will be decided by a court.”
These legislators could have also committed felonies in addition to leaving their offices. Many Democrat House Members have reportedly solicited money to avoid the fines that they would incur under House Rules. Members who accept or solicit donations of money, or other valuable items in connection with the violation of legislative duties and responsibilities to avoid voting may be violating bribery laws. See TEX. PENAL CODE SS36.02 . This includes not only legislators but also anyone who “offers or confers such funds to a legislator”, for the purpose to commit these felonies. I will use all of my extradition powers to force any legislator to return to Texas if they try to hide outside the state.
Sincerely,
Greg Abbott
Governor for Texas
The vote was delayed after dozens state representatives fled Chicago in order to stop the voting.
Dutzende of Texas Democratic state representatives arrived Sunday night in Chicago to stop the vote. The Texas House Democratic Caucus responded quickly to Abbott’s statement by writing, “Come take it.”
The statement described Republicans’ proposed district lines, which could secure five new GOP U.S. House Seats in the midterm elections next year, as “racist middecade redistricting.”
Texas Governor Gregg Abbott does not play around.
