SAN ANTONIO — Texas Democrats will not say whether they will return from Washington, D.C. to participate in this year's second special legislative session.
Gov. Greg Abbott, following through on a promise today, formally called lawmakers back to the capitol for more work beginning on Saturday.
His agenda includes the controversial elections bill that would roll back some options Texans employed to vote during the pandemic. House democrats fled the state to prevent a vote on the measure.
As of Thursday, Democrats had been in the nation's capitol for 24 days, effectively the duration of the current legislative session.
"I think it's important to understand that people know what we have done in the past and I think it's important to know we are capable of repeating history," Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, said. He would not say whether lawmakers are considering staying in Washington, D.C. for the next session.
Some political pundits have speculated Senate Democrats could break quorum and swap places with House Democrats. Others expect the staring contest to end soon.
"I'd be a little bit surprised if we don't have a working legislature by Monday or so, but you never know," he said in an interview with KENS 5. "Democrats had a mostly weak hand, and that's why they left. Leaving didn't really improve their odds."
Ramsey says Democrats will need Congress to act on the 'For the People' resolution to prevent the Republican voting rollback from becoming law. Otherwise, he says, their efforts have slim chances at success.
Further enticing lawmakers back to Austin, experts say the legislature will need to pass an ancillary budget so 2,100 capitol staffers are paid after Sept. 1. Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed the funding mechanism to punish democrats for walking out of the regular session in May.
If the fiscal year ends without a budget, mail sorters, cooks, janitors, researchers, and assistants at the capitol will not be paid.
Martinez Fischer said there may be a way for the legislative budget board to address the issue without Democrats, however. The committee meets Friday.
The state's supreme court could also overturn the veto.
"It's outright shameful that the governor would pick on people that have nothing to do with this," Martinez Fischer said.
Eventually, lawmakers will have to return to the capitol this year to redraw the state's election maps.
"We end up in courts anyway on this stuff because of the way we draw the lines," UTSA Political Sciences professor Jon Taylor said. "That said, the Democrats need to be back to actually have some say in the process."
Lawmakers will need another session to accomplish this, Taylor said.
Abbott's call also includes legislation that would bar transgender high school athletes from competing with the gender they were not assigned at birth. Lawmakers will also debate border security measures, how to spend federal Coronavirus aid, and education bills.
The legislature will also debate whether schools should ever be allowed to mandate masks and legislation that would ensure vaccines remain voluntary.
"I think it's going to be contentious," Taylor said. "I hope both sides will come together. I don't necessarily think they will."