Conservatives call on lawmakers to change Texas House rules in light of Democrats’ continued absence

(The Center Square) – Already one-third of the way through a second special legislative session, the Texas House is unable to conduct business because Democrats remain absent, preventing quorum.

The Texas House Republican Caucus lists a series of legislative priorities lawmakers are not able to address while Democrats refuse to return to the chamber, including funding benefits for the Teachers Retirement System of Texas, implementing protections for foster care children, funding for virtual education and bail reform, among others.

Caucus chairman State Rep. Jim Murphy, R-Houston, said he didn’t think House Speaker Dade Phelan would follow through on arresting Democrats who refuse to come to work even though the rules authorize him to do so. To date, Phelan authorized the issuance of warrants to 52 House Democrats, but none have been arrested and none have been brought to the chamber for the House to reach quorum.

In response to a reporter asking whether he thought Democrats would be arrested, Murphy replied, “I don’t know that they’re gonna go to that level, at this point. It’s more like a jury summons; you know, a paper that is delivered. And that will be another conversation down the line.”

Phelan, who appointed Democrats to committee chairmanships, also not stripped them of their leadership positions. When asked if he would remove these privileges, Phelan’s spokesperson, Enrique Marquez, told The Center Square, “The House rule dictating that chairmen serve at the pleasure of the Speaker was eliminated in the 73rd Legislature, approximately 28 years ago. Speaker Phelan removed Rep. Joe Moody as speaker pro tem, which is a position that serves at the pleasure of the speaker.”

When asked if Phelan could not remove the Democrats he appointed, Marquez said “appointments are made near the beginning of each regular session.”

All of this could have been prevented if Phelan had closed the doors of the chamber and followed existing procedure, JoAnn Fleming, director of the largest grassroots conservative organization in Texas, told The Center Square. Her group, Grassroots America – We The People, has asked Texans to contact their state representatives to urge them to change the House rules.

Some of the recommended changes include requiring the majority party to enact new rules of the House within 24 hours of quorum-breaking actions.

Breaking quorum alone should result in members automatically losing their chairmanships, vice chairmanships, committee memberships and seniority privileges, Fleming argues, and after members receive a third unexcused absence, they would lose their salary, per diem, mileage reimbursement, and staff pay.

Payment would be reinstated after they return, according to the recommended changes. However, contributions to state retirement funds would be reduced by 50% until the end of the current regular or special session. This reduction would act as a “built-in fine for shirking the responsibility of showing up to [fulfill] the oath of office.”

Fleming also suggests that salary, per diem, mileage reimbursements, and staff pay should revert to paper checks during a special session – requiring members to show up to collect their pay instead of through direct deposit.

One of the biggest criticisms of the House, including criticism made by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who leads the Senate, is that the House committee leaders failed to advance legislation. Many bills sat in committee and weren’t even scheduled for a vote during the regular legislative session. Members of the House can change the House rules, which govern how the body conducts business, to require committee leaders to advance legislation.

The House Calendars Committee, which schedules when legislation is heard by committees, can be required to schedule bills for a hearing or vote. Fleming suggests that during a regular session, the committee chairman be required within 14 days to publicly vote to move bills to the House floor, and during a special session, within five days.

“Any reluctance or resistance on the part of Republican State Representatives to pass strong rule changes to stop the obstruction of the work of the Texas House and halt impediments to ‘the consent of the governed’, should be viewed as active participation in the obstruction,” she says.

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