Texas Democrats face $500 daily fines: What to know
Texas Democrats who fled their state on Sunday face $500 daily fines as they try to stall GOP efforts to redraw the Lone Star State’s congressional maps, along with Gov. Greg Abbott's (R) call for their arrest.
Democrats are denying the Republican-led state House the numbers it needs to function and pausing progress on the redistricting proposal — but the move comes with big risks for the participating lawmakers.
The threats ratcheted up Monday afternoon when Abbott ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety, after the state House issued warrants, to "locate, arrest and return to the House chamber any member who has abandoned their duty to Texans ... until all missing Democrat House members are accounted for and brought to the Texas Capitol."
At the same time, each quorum-breaking Democrat faces a daily fine of $500 while they’re holding up the state Legislature, on top of the costs of living away from their homes in the Lone Star State. Now that more than 50 lawmakers have fled the state, the risky standoff could become increasingly expensive.
Here’s what to know:
Fines came after last quorum break
This isn’t the first time Texas Democrats have broken quorum to stall legislative business, a strategic move for the minority party in the state House. They walked out over a separate redistricting battle back in 2003, then again in 2021 as Republicans tried to pass new voting restrictions.
Both times, Democrats were successful in slowing things down, though the bills ultimately passed.
Less than two years after Democrats' 2021........
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