By Aarón Torres and Philip Jankowski
Dallas Morning News
https://www.dallasnews.com/
Jose Luis Magana / AP
AUSTIN — The Texas Supreme Court should vacate the seats of 13 state House Democrats who left the state, Attorney General Ken Paxton argued in petitions filed Friday afternoon.
Paxton’s filings, known as quo warranto petitions, come after the House failed to reach a quorum on Friday — the third time this week — as dozens of House Democrats fled the state to protest a congressional redistricting map desired by President Donald Trump.
Paxton is only asking the state high court to remove 13 House Democrats, which is less than the more than 50 who left the state Sunday.
“These cowards deliberately sabotaged the constitutional process and violated the oath they swore to uphold,” Paxton said in a statement. “Their out-of-state rebellion cannot go unchecked, and the businesses of Texas must go on.”
The attorney general is focusing on 13 members who made “incriminating public statements” about refusing to return to Texas while the special session is ongoing, according to a news release from the agency.
Paxton’s petition is the first step in kicking any of the lawmakers out of office. If the Texas Supreme Court declares their seats vacant, it would authorize Gov. Greg Abbott to call a special election to replace the lawmakers.
Abbott filed his own petition on Tuesday with the state Supreme Court, asking the justices to remove Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, from office. Wu is the House Democratic chair, and he is also named in Paxton’s suit.
“These petitions are flat-out unconstitutional, which is why none have been tried in 150 years of Texas History,” said attorney Chad Dunn, who is representing Wu in Abbott’s lawsuit.
Among the Democratic lawmakers Paxton is targeting is Rep. James Talarico of Austin, who is considering a run for the U.S. Senate seat held by Sen. John Cornyn and could ultimately face Paxton in the general election next year.
Paxton is also going after four North Texas representatives: Reps. Chris Turner of Grand Prairie, Ana-María Rodríguez Ramos, Mihaela Plesa and Jessica González of Dallas were all named.
The petition is just the latest legal action GOP officials in Texas have taken this week in their attempt to bring enough Democrats back to Austin so a quorum can be established. Without a quorum, the Texas House has been unable to conduct any legislative business, such as refer bills to committees, or pass bills out of the chamber.
The House Democrats out of state are already facing civil arrest warrants and daily fines as they miss quorum. While the civil arrest warrants are only enforceable within Texas state lines, Paxton filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Texas House on Thursday in Illinois, asking that law enforcement officers there be authorized to arrest the lawmakers.
So far, the legal threats have not dissuaded any House Democrats or resulted in any breaking with their party and returning to Texas.
Responding on social media, Turner said in a statement he is not afraid of the legal threats he is facing. He also took a shot at Paxton.
“Ken Paxton is a terrible attorney general, but he is somewhat good at sending campaign press releases masquerading as court filings,” Turner said.
Plesa said the lawmakers are fighting for working-class Americans and have not vacated their seats.
“We have not vacated our seats,” Plesa said at a news conference Friday afternoon in a Chicago suburb. “We are more active than ever in our response to Gov. Abbott, Ken Paxton and John Cornyn.”
Paxton argues that the Democratic members who left the state have abandoned their offices.
“When members of the Legislature disregard arrest warrants, refuse to perform their duties, and announce that they intend to prevent the Legislature from exercising its constitutional responsibilities, they have, through words and conduct, demonstrated an intent to relinquish and abandon their offices,” the petition said.
By Aarón Torres
Aarón is an Austin native who previously covered local government for The Kansas City Star and high school sports for the Knoxville News Sentinel. He is a University of Texas graduate, and Spanish is his first language.
Philip Jankowski has covered government, politics and criminal justice in Texas for 17 years. He previously worked for the Austin American-Statesman, the Killeen Daily Herald and the Taylor Press. Philip is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin.
This story, originally published in The Dallas Morning News, is reprinted as part of a collaborative partnership between The Dallas Morning News and Texas Metro News. The partnership seeks to boost coverage of Dallas’ communities of color, particularly in southern Dallas.
