Republicans in the Texas House will meet to determine how to shake down Texas Democrats who still haven’t paid fines levied against them for breaking quorum to delay the summer’s redistricting vote.
The GOP-controlled House Administration Committee will gather for a public hearing Friday morning, according to a meeting notice.
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.
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’ homes with Department of Public Safety officers and tracking their movements in order to bring them back to Austin.
San Antonio Rep. Josey Garcia even took to wearing disguises to evade DPS.
After they returned to the capital, Democrats were placed under constant surveillance to ensure they wouldn’t depart again before the vote was passed.
The fines faced by Texas Dems can’t be paid with campaign dollars, meaning members must dig into their own personal funds — all on a $7,200 annual paycheck.
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.
“We understood what the rules are. We knew that there was going to be a price to pay, in this case, a monetary cost,” Romero told the Houston Chronicle. “Our 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.”
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’s also a U.S. Senate hopeful.
Friday’s hearing also will include testimony by invited speakers, though their identities have not been revealed.
State Rep. Brian Harrison, R-Midlothian, expressed frustration that Democrats haven’t had to pay up or face punishment of any kind yet, calling the whole thing a bit of “bad kabuki theater” when speaking to the Chronicle.
“There’s been zero punishment,” Harrison told the Chronicle. “I 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.”
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