Texas Dems who fled state sue Gov. Abbott for trying to bring them back: 'Discomfort and embarrassment'
Texas House Democrats fled the state in a bid to stop a Republican-backed voter integrity bill
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/texas-d...uit-greg-abbott
By Emma Colton | Fox News


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Nearly two dozen Texas House Democrats who fled the state last month have sued Gov. Greg Abbott and other Republican officials, alleging that GOP efforts to bring them back to the state Capitol for a special legislative session infringed on their constitutional rights.

The 22 plaintiffs have been "deprived of liberty for substantial periods of time, suffered much anxiety and distress over separation from their families, and much discomfort and embarrassment," the complaint filed late Friday alleges.

Abbott, House Speaker Dade Phelan and State Rep. James White are all named as defendants in the case.

The lawsuit alleges that the three Republicans have "by public statements and otherwise, to attempt to deny, coerce, threaten, intimidate, and prevent" the Democrats and constituents from voting in elections, speaking publicly about their constitutional rights, and their right to not being arrested without probable cause.

The suit comes after Abbott called for the arrests of more than 50 Texas House Democrats who fled the state in July for Washington, D.C., in a bid to stop a Republican-backed voter integrity bill from passing in a special legislative session.

It was the second time that Texas Democrats staged a walkout on the voting bill, and left the state’s House of Representatives without a quorum to pass the bill. -- excerpt, rest at link above --

Austin judge signs order to block arrests of Democrats who refuse to return to Texas Capitol for special session
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch...st-threats?rl=1
A state district judge has granted a temporary restraining order blocking the arrest of House Democrats who have broken quorum, paving the way for those who remain outside the state to return home without threat of arrest.
by James Barragán Aug. 9, 202110:34 AM Central

At least 50 House Democrats that Texas left the state held a press conference in Washington D.C. The democrats broke quorum and stopped Republicans from taking up GOP priority bills on July 13, 2021. Credit: Shuran Huang for The Texas Tribune


A state district judge in Travis County has granted a temporary restraining order blocking the arrest of House Democrats who have broken quorum by leaving the state, paving the way for those who remain outside of Texas to return home without threat of arrest.

State District Judge Brad Urrutia, a Democrat, signed the order late Sunday night restricting Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dade Phelan from "detaining, confining or otherwise restricting" the free movement of House Democrats within the state or issuing any warrants ordering their confinement.

The order expires in 14 days unless extended by Urrutia. The court will hear arguments on a temporary injunction on Aug. 20 where Abbott and Phelan must show why a temporary injunction should not be filed against them.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 19 House Democrats by attorneys Sam Bassett, Jeremy Monthy and Megan Rue.

It is the second lawsuit filed by House Democrats in an attempt to avoid arrest if they returned to Texas. The other was filed by attorney Craig Washington in federal court in Austin on behalf of 22 House Democrats. It was riddled with problems, including subsequent statements by at least four of the plaintiffs that they had not authorized the suit on their behalf.-- excerpt, rest at link above --

Texas House, just shy of a quorum, issues order to lock members inside the chamber
https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/09/..._eid=6276fc82d6
This is the second time in recent weeks the majority Republican House has voted to issue a “call of the House,” though members on Monday did not offer or debate a motion to enable law enforcement to track down members still missing from the chamber.
BY CASSANDRA POLLOCK AUG. 9, 2021UPDATED: 2 HOURS AGO


House Speaker Dade Phelan declares that a quorum is not present on Monday, August 9, 2021. Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune

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The Texas House on Monday fell just short of having enough members to begin conducting official business and voted overwhelmingly in favor of a procedural move that locked the doors of the chamber to prevent members from leaving in an effort to retain a quorum.

The move, known as a “call of the House,” signals the continuation of a weekslong impasse between Democrats and Republicans in the chamber over a GOP elections bill as the second special session gets underway.

This is the second time in recent weeks the majority Republican House has voted to issue a call of the House to wrangle Democrats, though members on Monday did not offer or debate a motion to enable law enforcement to track down members still missing from the chamber. During the first special legislative session that ended Friday, the House voted overwhelmingly for such a motion while over 50 Democrats were camped out in Washington, D.C., to block that elections legislation.-- excerpt, rest at link above --

Texas Supreme Court opens door to arresting AWOL Democrat lawmakers in election law standoff
https://justthenews.com/government/court...aign=newsletter
The temporary stay could allow Democrats to be arrested if they refused a new order to return to the Legislature to vote in a special session.
By John Solomon
Updated: August 10, 2021 - 3:43pm


The Texas Supreme Court handed Gov. Greg Abbott a win Tuesday in his battle with AWOL Democrats, temporarily suspending a court order that had prevented the arrest of state legislators who fled the state to avoid voting on election integrity legislation.

The ruling created a 48-hour window for the Democrats to respond, meaning lawmakers who returned to Texas but continue to break quorum in a new special legislative session could be arrested if the state House voted to compel their attendance.

"Relators' emergency motion for temporary relief granted, stay order issued, response requested due by 4:00 p.m., August 12, 2021," the court wrote in a brief order that issued a stay of Travis County District Judge Brad Urrutia's order.

File
SCOTX-ArrestStay.pdf

Urrutia's ruling Sunday barred Abbott and Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan from "issuing any warrant or other instrument" and "detaining, confining, or otherwise restricting a Texas House Democrat's movement without his or her consent."

The justices still must decide the broader issue. Their stay came less than 24 hours after they handed Abbott another win, upholding his veto of funding for the Legislature to punish the Democrats who fled the state to avoid doing their job.-- excerpt, rest at link above --

Texas state Republicans advance bill to prevent quorum breaks
By Joseph Choi - 08/10/21 03:40 PM EDT
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch...t-quorum-breaks


Republicans in the Texas House of Representatives advanced a measure on Tuesday that would allow the legislature to operate without having two-thirds of the members present after House Democrats twice left the state to prevent the passage of an elections reform bill.

The Texas state constitution requires that two-thirds of the House and Senate be present in order for the legislature to operate, which allowed Democrats — 57 out of 150 total House members — to block legislation from passing while they traveled to D.C. to advocate for federal voting legislation.

As the Austin American-Statesman reports, a Texas Senate committee approved a joint resolution that would ask voters to amend the state's constitution so that a simple majority could establish a quorum in the House and Senate.

"Our state cannot allow a minority of lawmakers to wield such a disproportionate power so as to render the Texas Legislature incapable of responding to our state's needs," state Sen. Brian Birdwell (R) said during a hearing on the resolution on Monday, adding that this would prevent "a minority from crippling or disabling the Legislature."-- excerpt, rest at link above --