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The Texas House Administration Committee will be meeting next month to discuss the punishments for members of the Democrat caucus who broke quorum last session in their effort to block the GOP-backed redistricting plan. So does this mean they’ll finally be punished for delaying the work of the House for weeks?
One of the many consequences that have been proposed and pushed for is financial penalties, such as fines, but some members of the Republican caucus aren’t confident they’ll face any punishment at all.
State Rep. Brian Harrison (R-HD10) pointed out that there could have been—and should have been—harsh consequences months ago. “This is bad kabuki theater,” he said. “Look, if they wanted to take action, they should have done it a year ago. These people haven’t been fined, they haven’t even lost their parking spots.”
Harrison also raised questions about the makeup of the House Administration Committee itself, pointing out that its vice-chair is a Democrat. But that’s not all. Harrison also pointed out that Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico sits on the committee. “Talarico was a core part of the Democrat coalition that elected Speaker Dustin Burrows. Burrows works for Talarico.”
In short, Harrison believes this is all for show and doesn’t believe there will be any actual punishments for these quorum breakers carried out.