And if you try to force me, I'll hold my breath until I turn blue...

[khaosworks]

'Outlaw' Texas Legislators Still on the Lam
By Lee Hockstader
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 14, 2003; Page A03

AUSTIN, May 13 -- Texas's most eagerly sought fugitives were tracked to their lair late Monday when state troopers discovered more than 50 Democratic state legislators holed up just over the border in Oklahoma, where they were staying in a Holiday Inn and holding court at Denny's.

On Day 2 of the most thrilling political saga to grip Texas in years, Republicans at the domed state Capitol in Austin today plastered the missing Democrats' faces on milk cartons and distributed decks of playing cards picturing the Democrats in the style of most-wanted Iraqis.

Meanwhile, the defiant Democrats stayed on the lam. Lacking the authority to make arrests in Oklahoma, the Texas troopers urged the lawmakers to come home to the Lone Star State, where they are needed to do the people's business in the state House of Representatives. But the Democrats refused, maintaining a boycott that has paralyzed all legislative business, undercut efforts to write a multibillion-dollar budget and imperiled hundreds of pending bills.

The Democrats said they would not come home until the Texas House drops a congressional redistricting plan designed to add five to seven more Republican seats to the 15 the GOP already controls in Texas. The redistricting proposal has been aggressively pushed by Republicans, who in January took control of the Texas House of Representatives for the first time in 130 years.

The walkout by the Democrats, who hold 62 of the 150 House seats, has deprived the chamber of the 100-member minimum it needs to debate and vote on pending legislation. Today, 95 members could be mustered.

That infuriated Republicans, who control all 29 statewide elected offices but find themselves blocked in the state House of Representatives. They accused the Democrats of childish and cowardly behavior, and insisted the walkout would have no effect.

Apparently, they're also detaining legislators who have shown up in the capitol and basically are not allowing them to leave, which smacks of wrongful confinement to me, since it can't possibly be a criminal offence to stay away from the legislature. More comedy elements include "warrants of arrest" issued under the Texas constitution that everyone agrees were issued but nobody knows where they are, the Texas Rangers being helpless to do anything but offer to "escort" the legislatures back, the Oklahoma authorities saying they aren't going to do anything without a court order. I mean come on - don't they have provisions in the Constitution that allow them to go on without a quorum? After all, this is the third time this has happened. Oh, wait. I forgot. This is Texas.

Anyway, too many news articles dealing with various angles to cite, so do yourself a favor and go to http://news.google.com and type in "53 texas legislators" as the search term and let your fingers do the clicking. Careful not to rupture yourself laughing.

More on this as it develops...

Comments

[pickledginger.livejournal.com]

I love it! Really. Besides, it's a Texas tradition. They grow 'em contrary, down there.

Re: Quorum

[etherial.livejournal.com]

One would think that, by the operating definition of Quorum, that the only provision they have for operating without one would be if everyone not present were dead.