Quorum break looms large as Texas lawmakers begin second special session

AUSTIN, Texas (CN) — Just after 10 a.m. local time on Friday, Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows slammed down his gavel, bringing an end to an unproductive special session in the Lone Star State.

Despite some bipartisan agenda items, including flood warning systems, the session ended with no legislation sent to the governor. Instead, it was overshadowed by President Donald Trump’s controversial redistricting efforts, plus a quorum break by state Democrats to block the plan.

Texas Democrats say new proposed maps — drawn with the expressed purpose of helping Trump maintain control of the House in the 2026 midterms — are discriminatory and dilute minority voting power. More than 50 Democrats left the state on Aug. 3, preventing a vote on the maps.

Undeterred, Texas Republicans have already declared a second special session. It began Friday with an identical agenda.

Burrows, a Republican from Lubbock, called the situation “a win for Texans" as he gaveled in another special session.

“They have allowed us to reset the clock,” he said of his absent Democratic colleagues. “When the new session begins, we will be able to move immediately to pass a strong pro-life bill to protect women’s spaces and more property tax protections without the threat of procedural gamesmanship getting in the way.”

Still, as the quorum break continues, it remains to be seen whether a second special session will be any more fruitful than the first.

In a Thursday press release, Texas Democrats laid out two conditions they say must be met before they come back to Austin.

They called for the first special session to end — a condition that has now been met. They also called on California lawmakers to introduce their own gerrymandering plans, thereby erasing Republican gains in Texas. That second demand will likely soon be met as well, as Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday called for new congressional maps to go before California voters in November.

It’s not clear that Democrats have any remaining options to keep Texas from adopting new maps.

On Friday, Burrows said that he expected quorum to be restored on Monday. State law enforcement is currently authorized to arrest unexcused lawmakers and return them to the chamber.

In an interview, Calvin Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, said the question now is not if Republicans will pass their new maps, but when.

“These Democrats have families. They have jobs," Jillson said. “They’re going to come home, and a quorum will be restored, and Republicans will pass their bill.”

Acknowledging this reality in a press release, Texas Democrats said a new phase of the redistricting fight is on the horizon.

“Under the advice of legal counsel, Democrats must return to Texas to build a strong public legislative record for the upcoming legal battle against a map that violates both the current Voting Rights Act and the Constitution,” they stated.

Throughout the quorum break, Republican leaders, including Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton, have taken several actions to compel the members to return.

Burrows signed civil arrest warrants and has sought fines of $500 per day for absent lawmakers. Abbott and Paxton went even further, arguing to the Texas Supreme Court that Democrats had abandoned their offices and seeking to replace them. The high court is asking for briefs in those cases and is likely to release a ruling in September.

The state Supreme Court is unlikely to rule in favor of expelling the decamped members of the House, Jillson said.

“I don’t believe that Attorney General Paxton and Governor Abbott will win those court cases, because the right to opposition is inherent in American politics,” he explained. “Our Constitution was written not as a simple majoritarian document, but as a document that checks simple majorities.”

Paxton has also filed a lawsuit against former El Paso Congressman Beto O’Rourke and his voter registration group, Powered by People, to block him from fundraising and paying for the travel expenses of quorum-breakers. He argues that O’Rourke effectively bribed the lawmakers with luxury plane rides and accommodations in exchange for leaving the state to block redistricting.

After O’Rourke refused to back down, Paxton escalated and is now seeking to hold him in contempt. The judge has yet to rule on that motion.

As it becomes increasingly likely that Texas will get new maps, questions remain over the costs of this fight, literal or otherwise.

Burrows has ordered the House to do an accounting of costs incurred due to the Democrats’ protest. He has promised that the cost be paid in full by those who were intentionally absent.

Others including Jillson see a different set of costs associated with the redistricting fight.

“One cost certainly is a cost to Texas sovereignty and independence,” Jillson said. “Historically, Texas has always resisted federal authority. But now, we find an example of the Republican president of the United States, Donald Trump, turning to Texas and saying, ‘I need you to find me five new Republican seats, not because that will in any way benefit Texas or Texas citizens, but because I need help up in Washington to maintain majority control.’”

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