At the end of the 87th Legislative Session, House Democrats walked out of the legislative session, preventing. the Texas House from reaching the 2/3 needed to make a quorum and proceed with business. This procedural tactic resulted in the GOP sponsored Election bill failing to pass.
In an attempt to intimidate and dissuade house Democrats from breaking quorum again during a special session, Governor Abbott vetoed Article X (10) of the Budget. Article X funds the legislative branch and support agencies such as the Legislative Budget board and the State Auditors office. This threat did not stop the Democratic House members from yet again breaking quorum and spending the first called session in Washington DC lobbying Congress to pass a national voting rights act. On Thursday, August 5th, the day before the first called legislative session ended, TSEU and allies held an informational picket in front of the Governor’s mansion, demanding the restoration of Article X funds before over 2000 state employees lose their pay and benefits.
Partial Victory!
The pressure worked. Elected officials used their power within the Legislative Budget Board to extend the funding for Article X another month. Although the extension is a huge victory, We must continue to pressure the Governor to permanently restore the funding and stop using the livelihoods of our state employees as a political bargaining chip. The Second Called session began on Aug 7th and finally reached a quorum in mid-August.
