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Will Texas House Democrats who broke quorum really be arrested?
It remained unclear Tuesday whether House Speaker Dade Phelan will take the final steps necessary to have arrests made how that the Texas Supreme Court has cleared the way, but here’s what it took to get to this point:
First, the House members present in Austin had to issue a “call of the House” to begin the process of determining which members were breaking the chamber’s rules by not having excused absences. That happened Aug. 9.
Then on Aug. 10, the House voted 80-12 to force the fugitive Democrats to return, just hours after the Texas Supreme Court cleared the way for the House to order them back to the chamber to secure a quorum.
Following that vote, Phelan signed 52 civil arrest warrants for the Democrats. This is uncharted territory for the Legislature, but the expectation has been that House Sergeant-at-Arms officials and law enforcement would track down enough of the absent Democrats to reach a quorum and escort them to the Capitol and into House chambers. There are no criminal arrests or trips to jail for anyone involved.
It takes two-thirds of the 150 House members to reach a quorum. As many as 96 House members have recorded themselves as present during the stalemate, leaving the chamber just four votes short of a quorum. Democrats have the option of returning on their own and nullifying the need for arrests.