By Aarón Torres
Dallas Morning News
https://www.dallasnews.com/
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
AUSTIN — Trying to prevent future quorum-breaks, Republicans in the Texas House on Tuesday passed a measure that will prohibit lawmakers from being able to receive campaign donations if they are purposely impeding legislative activity.
House Bill 18, by Rep. Matt Shaheen, R-Prosper, would ban any state lawmaker who is absent for the purposes of impeding legislative action from accepting campaign contributions greater than $221 — the amount senators and representatives receive as a daily per diem during a regular or special session.
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House Republicans passed the bill on a 86-46 vote, sending the measure to the Senate.
As the second special session winds down, Republicans have introduced bills that would impose a financial burden on lawmakers should they attempt to flee the Capitol to stop all legislative actions, which is what a contingent of Democrats did last month to prevent action on Gov. Greg Abbott’s redistricting plan.
Last week the Senate passed Senate Bill 19 by Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, which bans fundraising during some special sessions. That bill is currently pending in the House Calendars committee, which decides which bills advance to the full House.
While introducing his bill on Tuesday, Shaheen said the law currently “creates a financial incentive to break quorum.” Under HB 18, members without an excused absence would be barred from getting the campaign donations and could also be hit with a fine of $5,000 for each violation.
“By passing HB 18, the Legislature ensures that members cannot financially benefit from quorum breaking absences, and helps to protect the integrity of our legislative process,” Shaheen said.
Dozens of House Democrats left Texas earlier this month as they tried to unsuccessfully prevent the GOP from passing a new congressional map that gives Republicans a five-seat advantage in the 2026 midterm elections.
Texas officials tried to punish Democrats in numerous ways, including petitioning the Texas Supreme Court to have Democrats who broke quorum removed from office. The state’s high court has yet to rule on those lawsuits.
Democrats have broken quorum twice this decade to try to prevent controversial bills from reaching Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk. Neither effort — in 2021 and this month — prevented the legislation from passing.
The Legislature was unable to pass any bills – from the congressional redistricting map to legislation in response to the catastrophic Hill Country floods – as Democrats stayed in Illinois, New York, Massachusetts and California.
Democrats objected to Shaheen’s bill, saying the bill is not about trying to stop quorum breaks in the future but about stopping dissent entirely.
“Is it fair to say that this bill is more about stopping dissent and intimidation than an actual penalty?” asked Rep. John Bucy, D-Austin.
Shaheen disagreed.
“The purpose for this is a penalty,” he said.
“It’s not about dissenting political opposition?” Bucy asked in a follow-up.
“It’s about punishment,” Shaheen replied, adding the measure is meant to ensure a lawmaker’s campaign doesn’t get millions of dollars for breaking quorum.
Democratic lawmakers attempted to kill Shaheen’s bill using a legislative maneuver known as a point of order, arguing the measure was not on Abbott’s agenda for the second over time session. It was denied.
The special session is scheduled to end Saturday, Sept. 13.
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.
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.
