What It Means To Break Quorum And What You Need To Know About The Texas House Democrats’ Dramatic Departure

Simply put, a quorum is the minimum number of members required for a governing body to conduct official business. In the Texas Legislature, two-thirds of the elected members constitute a quorum in each chamber.

That means 100 members of the 150-seat House must be present in the lower chamber and 21 of the 31-seat Senate must be present in the upper chamber.

With at least 51 out of 67 House Democrats absent, there will not be enough members present to conduct business as usual under House rules.

The House rules state that with a quorum, “no business shall be transacted, except to compel the attendance of absent members or to adjourn.”

After landing in Washington, D.C., Democratic lawmakers made it clear that they would stay there until August 6 — when the special session is set to expire. Their departure not only impedes the voting restrictions legislation, but also the ten other conservative priority items Gov. Greg Abbott slated for the special session, such as legislation on abortion, critical race theory and transgender student athletes.

The Texas Senate still plans to proceed with business as usual, despite the fact that it’s also dealt with its handful of no-shows as well. Nine Democratic state senators were missing from the Senate floor July 13, meaning the Senate barely met quorum.

Three senators confirmed with the Texas Tribune that they’ve also headed for D.C. in solidarity with their House counterparts. They are Sens. Sarah Eckhardt of Austin and Royce West and Nathan Johnson of Dallas.

The Senate moved forward with approving its version of voting restrictions legislation — Senate Bill 1 — on July 13, one day after House Democrats fled Austin. But as long as the House lacks enough members to vote on legislation, no bill can become law.

House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, made it clear that the chamber will “use every available resource” to preserve the quorum. One way House Republicans went about this is by passing a procedural move known as “the call of the House,” which allows for law enforcement to track down lawmakers who have already fled the chamber.

Rep. Will Metcalf, R-Conroe, moved to issue “the call of the House” July 13, which passed 76-4. He was met with opposition from a small handful of Democrats who chose to remain on the House Floor. They were: Reps. Ryan Guillen of Rio Grande City, Tracy King of Batesville, Eddie Morales Jr. of Eagle Pass and John Turner of Dallas.

It is still unclear how that will work considering the fact that Texas law enforcement does not have any sort of jurisdiction in D.C. The provision is not really relevant until Democrats return to the “corporate boundaries of the state,” according to Randall Erben, an adjunct professor at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law.

Gov. Greg Abbott has also vowed to go as far as arresting the Democratic lawmakers and calling as many special sessions as necessary.

“As soon as they come back in the state of Texas, they will be arrested, they will be cabined inside the Texas Capitol until they get their job done,” he told KVUE in an interview July 12.

Randall Erben, an adjunct professor at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law, said he couldn’t find anything that would give the governor the authority to arrest members. Instead, Erben said, “the House has their own procedures and that is really the relevant provision in my opinion,” pointing to Rule 5 Section 8 of the House Rules.

Erben said while some people “may argue” members could be violating state laws on resisting or evading arrest, he doesn’t believe House members would face arrest on criminal charges. He said they would likely face being “detained and returned to the Capitol” so the House could achieve a quorum.