The Texas House of Representatives was unable to conduct business after more than 50 Democratic members left the state. The move is an effort to prevent consideration of a mid-decade redistricting plan that would add five Republican seats to the congressional delegation. Democratic leaders announced from Illinois on Sunday that they were breaking quorum. On Monday at 3 p.m., the House did not reach the required number of members present.
House Speaker Dustin Burrows addressed the situation following roll call. “Leaving the state does not stop this House from doing its work,” he said. “It only delays it.” The House has authorized sergeants-at-arms to bring absent members back, but their authority does not extend beyond Texas borders.
Senate Bill 7, authored by Senator Mayes Middleton of Galveston, would restrict access to public bathrooms and other sex-segregated spaces based on a person’s birth sex.
This is not the first time Texas Democrats have broken quorum. In 2021, they left in protest of an elections bill they argued would suppress votes; that break lasted six weeks before enough returned for business to resume and the bill passed. A similar walkout occurred in 2003 over another redistricting plan, which was eventually enacted once lawmakers returned.
Texas is one of four states requiring a two-thirds majority present for a quorum in its legislature. This rule allows minority parties in Texas, Oregon, Indiana, and Tennessee to halt proceedings by refusing attendance. In Oregon in 2019, Republicans walked out over a carbon cap-and-trade bill; subsequent legislation made legislators with more than ten unexcused absences ineligible for re-election. After another walkout in 2023, ten Oregon Republicans were barred from running again.
On Monday, Senator Middleton filed SB 62 aiming to discourage such tactics by vacating any member’s seat if absent without permission for seven consecutive days.
If Democrats maintain their absence until August 19th—the end of the current special session—bills already passed by the Senate, including one banning THC products, will not advance this session. Governor Greg Abbott has previously responded to failed sessions by calling immediate new ones and placing prior priority items like school choice and bail reform back on the agenda.
Despite the lack of quorum in the House, Senate committees continued working through scheduled bills. The Senate State Affairs Committee considered SB 7 on Monday. Middleton explained his position: “This is common sense,” he said. “It protects women and children in private spaces like locker rooms, showers, and family violence shelters that are dedicated to women.” If enacted as written, transgender women would be prohibited from entering these spaces; violators could face fines up to $25,000.
The committee also reviewed SB 14 by Senator Phil King of Weatherford, which would require law enforcement agencies to redact certain sensitive information outside personnel files—including hiring details or unsubstantiated complaints against officers—from public release. That bill remains pending.
