{"id":716448,"date":"2026-04-09T19:56:38","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T19:56:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/716448\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T19:56:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T19:56:38","slug":"texas-house-republicans-struggling-to-go-after-quorum-busting-democrats-for-unpaid-fines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/716448\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas House Republicans struggling to go after quorum-busting Democrats for unpaid fines"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Texas Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu speaks at a press conference in Illinois. Credit: Instagram \/ thedemocrats<\/p>\n

Republicans in the Texas House will meet to determine how to shake down Texas Democrats who still haven\u2019t paid fines levied against them for breaking quorum to delay the summer\u2019s redistricting vote.<\/p>\n

The GOP-controlled House Administration Committee will gather for a public hearing Friday morning, according to a meeting notice<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fort Worth Republican Charlie Geren, who chairs the panel, notified the Democrats of the fines they owe in January. The penalties are for their absence in House chambers during the August special session, which was scheduled at the behest of Texas Governor Greg Abbott to pass a mid-decade redistricting map favoring Republicans ahead of the midterms.<\/p>\n

More than 50 of the 62 House Democrats owe $9,200 each in fines or other penalties for fleeing the capital while the session was in progress. The charges include a $7,000 fee for being absent, plus another $2,000 to cover the $125,000 the state spent allegedly staking out Democrats\u2019 homes<\/a> with Department of Public Safety officers and tracking their movements in order to bring them back to Austin.<\/p>\n

San Antonio Rep. Josey Garcia even took to wearing disguises<\/a> to evade DPS.<\/p>\n

After they returned to the capital, Democrats were placed under constant surveillance<\/a> to ensure they wouldn\u2019t depart again before the vote was passed.<\/p>\n

The fines faced by Texas Dems can\u2019t be paid with campaign dollars, meaning members must dig into their own personal funds \u2014 all on a $7,200 annual paycheck.<\/p>\n

Democrats dispute how the penalties were calculated and are exploring legal options for resisting or reducing the fines, according to Democratic State Rep. Ramon Romero, who chairs the Mexican American Legislative Caucus.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe understood what the rules are. We knew that there was going to be a price to pay, in this case, a monetary cost,\u201d Romero told the Houston Chronicle<\/a>. \u201cOur lawyers believe that there may be some constitutional grounds for defense, and certainly they believe that there is lots of due process that has not occurred yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

The House Administration Committee is a bipartisan committee, which means some of its Democratic members are among those facing fines, such as Austin-Round Rock Rep. James Talarico, who\u2019s also a U.S. Senate hopeful.<\/p>\n

Friday\u2019s hearing also will include testimony by invited speakers, though their identities have not been revealed.<\/p>\n

State Rep. Brian Harrison,\u00a0R-Midlothian, expressed frustration that Democrats haven\u2019t had to pay up or face punishment of any kind yet, calling the whole thing a bit of \u201cbad kabuki theater\u201d when speaking to the Chronicle.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s been zero punishment,\u201d Harrison told the Chronicle. \u201cI mean, not one Democrat had their seniority taken away. Not one Democrat has had their vice chairmanship stripped away. Not one Democrat has had their chairmanship revoked. Not one Democrat has been forced to pay even a single dollar. Hell, they still have their parking spots.\u201d<\/p>\n

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