NEWYou now have the option to listen to articles from Fox News!
As Texas House Democrats remain in Illinois to break quorum and prevent their Republican colleagues from voting on redistricting during a special session, legal action is being pursued by the Lone Star State to compel the Prairie State to help in apprehending the state legislators.
A petition filed with the Eighth Judicial Circuit Court, Adams County, Illinois, lists the Texas House of Representatives as the petitioner and various state House members as respondents.
Following the Democrats’ departure, the state House voted to enforce their attendance by authorizing the sergeant-at-arms to bring back lawmakers with unexcused absences “by securing and maintaining their attendance, including through arrest if necessary.”
“Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows issued civil warrants for the members who intentionally and without justification broke quorum,” the court filing states.
The state is seeking assistance from Illinois.
“The Texas House of Representatives is seeking an order to recognize the Quorum Warrants as a public Act of the State of Texas entitled to full faith and credit in Illinois, and is requesting that this Court issue civil warrants instructing the appropriate Illinois law enforcement officials to carry out the civil arrest of Respondents and coordinate with the Sergeant of Arms of the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Department of Public Safety to return them to Texas,” the filing asserts.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running for U.S. Senate against incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn, referred to the Democrats who fled the state as “rogue legislators.”
“We are exploring all legal options available to hold these rogue legislators accountable. Texans deserve representatives who fulfill their duties instead of fleeing at the direction of their wealthy backers. Texans have no tolerance for losers, and even less for cowards,” Paxton stated, according to a press release.
“From the beginning, I have maintained that all options are available to ensure my colleagues who have left the House return to fulfill their constitutional responsibilities,” Burrows said, according to the attorney general office’s press release. “The members who have fled have had more than enough time and chances to return voluntarily, and since they have continued to shirk their duties to their constituents and evade returning to Texas, the State must pursue additional legal measures to compel their return from other states.”
