AUSTIN, Texas (KXXV) — The Texas house of Representative reconvened on Monday in an attempt at a quorum as majority of Democrats left the state. But only 96 members present, meaning a quorum was not met.
House Speaker Dustin Burrows gave an update on the process of locating colleagues and attempting to get a quorum:
"The Department of Public Safety has special agents deployed in every region of Texas. The house has deputized dozens of officers and dispatched them across the state. They are set up outside member's homes, conducting surveillance, knocking on doors, calling their phones multiple times a day. So far, no one's home. But the search continues and it will not stop."
House Speaker Burrows emphasized that for each day a member is not present, they will be held financially responsible for the costs created, not the taxpayer.
"To those absent members, you can go to another city, another state, even another time zone, but you cannot escape your responsibility to the people of Texas. Eventually, you will be here. Tomorrow when the gavel drops, the question is simple: will you be in that chair to vote for these critical disaster recovery bills, or will you be remembered as one?" House Speaker Burrows said.
Watch the Texas House meet here:
House Bills 1, 2, 18, 19 and 20 are scheduled to be discussed on the house floor on Tuesday, which related to flooding and disaster response in the state.
"These are not symbolic bills, they are critical measures that would expand the powers of the Texas Division of Emergency Management to improve emergency response across the state, create the Texas Interoperability Council, which would help local governments acquire key communication equipment to better coordinate response efforts, assist communities with purchasing and upgrading emergency communication systems, require outdoor campground facilities to have a flood disaster plan, and create public protections against fraudulent bad actors trying to solicit charitable donations after a disaster."
The house is adjourned until Tuesday at 10 a.m.
