BURSTTexas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said he planned to call another special session after the GOP failed to achieve a quorum, or the minimum number of lawmakers needed in order to conduct business, to pass a new GOP House map.
“With the Texas House and Senate today announcing they are prepared to sine die on Friday, I will call the Texas Legislature back immediately for Special Session #2," Abbott said in a statement on Tuesday, referring to the chambers adjourning.
"The Special Session #2 agenda will have the exact same agenda, with the potential to add more items critical to Texans,” he continued. “There will be no reprieve for the derelict Democrats who fled the state and abandoned their duty to the people who elected them. I will continue to call special session after special session until we get this Texas first agenda passed."
Texas Democrats have remained out of the state for nearly a week as they’ve looked to block Republicans from passing new congressional lines that would give the GOP five pick-up opportunities next year.
Texas committees in the Senate and House have passed identical House maps, but neither chamber has been able to bring their map for a full vote on either floor since Democrats have fled the state.
Abbott has warned that he’ll continue to call special sessions until they return. It remains unclear how long Democrats will be out of the Lone Star State for.
While California makes moves toward neutralizing Texas Republicans’ expected gains with their new map, other blue and red states could also redraw their own maps.
Abbott has warned Texas could eliminate 10 Democratic districts if California tries to pass a more Democratic-friendly map in response to the map passed in Texas.