It’s been just over a week since the special legislative session started and Republican lawmakers are rapidly carrying out redistricting.
There have been multiple hearings in a matter of a few days to allow voters to weigh in, and this morning House Republicans unveiled the first draft of their proposed new congressional map.
As Republicans move quickly to redraw the state’s congressional districts, Democratic lawmakers are on the move. They visited California, Illinois, and neighboring New Mexico to sound the alarm about what they see as an unfair power grab.
President Trump has asked Texas Republicans to undertake the rare mid-decade redistricting with the goal of picking up five House seats. Democrats warn if it can happen in Texas, it could happen in other states. And those Democrats are exploring ways to fund a large walkout that would bring the session to a grinding halt.
But denying a quorum during the special session could be costly. Lawmakers who leave face fines of up to $500 a day.
For more, Texas Standard was joined by Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston. Listen to the interview above or read the transcript below.
This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:
Texas Standard: First, let’s talk a little more about why Texas Democrats might break quorum.
Brandon Rottinghaus: The Texas Democrats are concerned that the Republicans are bullying them, they’re forcing them to do this redistricting at a period in time where it’s not traditional and where it’s definitely going to hurt them.
There’s a long history of this. The Democrats have fled the state before with the effort to try to slow down or stop the process of redistricting, but it’s kind of a nuclear option in a way.
There’s news that the Democrats are raising money to potentially do just that, leave the state to deny the Legislature enough votes to carry out redistricting. Tell us about that effort. What would that entail?
In effect, what has happened in the past is that Democrats would need the resources to be able to stay away for an extended period of time. Now the special session lasts, by law, 30 days and we’re about a week-plus into that. So they’d have to be able stay away that long.
But there’s also the matter of the rules. Now, the House rules that they changed the last time there was a quorum break essentially rack up fines for members who don’t show up to work in those days.
So that’s something that Democrats have to pay for out of their pocket. So some of the resources would likely go to that, too.
So those can be quite costly. So getting help would be critical for some if they wanted to join.
That’s right. And they’re not allowed to pay for it out of their campaign accounts. So they are going to have to not only raise money for the effort of being gone, but then harness some of that strategy to raise money themselves.
Democrats have got kind of two windows here. They’ve got a window that looks into what’s happening in Texas in their districts and what those constituents care about. But they’re also looking at the national storyline.
National Democrats want Texans to take a stand on this. And the problem for many Texas Democrats is that they’re kind of caught in between. They have fewer resources and tools to be able to slow things down, and then they have to think about their own constituents and what they might want.
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Well, speaking of constituents, there have been hearings across the state about redistricting and those have not necessarily gone well. There seems to be a lot of frustration that Republicans have not presented the proposed new maps. When will that happen? And, you know, it sounds like voters are not happy. (Editors note: This interviewed aired shortly before the proposed congressional maps were released.)
They’re definitely not happy, at least a certain segment is not happy. I think that they definitely are expressing themselves. You’ve seen these very kind of high-profile types of hearings turned into shouting matches.
That’s not uncommon in a time where Democrats are frustrated by national politics anyway. And the fact that now it’s come home to Texas and it feels like that national Republicans are essentially telling Texans what to do makes Democrats really frustrated. So there’s definitely a lot of ire on that.
We should see maps this week. There are rumors that they’re coming out in the next couple of days and that’s going to, I think, really hone in on some of the key details about what exactly is a problem for Texas Democrats and what’s not.
So what are Republicans saying about redistricting and the possible walkout?
Republicans are saying that Texas needs to be redistricted. It’s a fast-growing state. The shifts in politics mean that you have to have districts that accommodate that.
And, of course, if they look at the bottom line for Democrats walking out, they’re saying that they think that it’s something that is problematic, that Democrats should stay and do their job, regardless of the political implications.
Let’s talk about the fact that there’s a lot more work ahead for this special session. How do you see this playing out? I mean, redistricting isn’t the only big issue.
That’s a great point and the governor put together a tremendously long menu of options and the problem is for the Legislature, they can only eat so much at any one meal.
So you’ve got some pretty high-profile issues like these bathroom bills or like banning taxpayer-funded lobbying, but you’ve also got some more bread-and-butter things like tax relief and even THC reform.
So there’s a lot to do and time is running short. In the normal session, the calendar is the enemy, but it’s even more so the case in a special where you’ve got a very limited time.
So what will you be looking for in the next few days, next few weeks? Because time is running out.
It’s so true. I think one thing we’re looking for is the number of hearings we see, and whether that fast forwards. The House has been a little bit more slow. They’ve been letting the Senate take the lead on that. But that, of course, lets the Senate set the narrative, too.
So the House is going to have to catch up a little bit. I think we’ll see some movement this week and probably early next week. But it’s definitely the case that they’re going to have to rush, rush, rush to get things done.
