‘We want to go back to work’: East Texas State Reps express disappointment with quorum breakers

TYLER, Texas (KETK) – It’s been more than two weeks since a quorum break halted the work of Texas lawmakers in Austin, and East Texas state lawmakers are saying they are ready to go back to work, while Democratic Party leaders are saying they want a fair session.

“When a group just decides they’re not going to show up for work, it puts the people of Texas at a real disadvantage,” State Rep. Brent Money, a Republican of Greenville, said. 

As a Republican state representative for Van Zandt County, Money said he’s disappointed in his fellow lawmakers and their decision not to come back to work.

“I think people elected us to show up and fight for the things they believe in, and sometimes you’re going to win and sometimes you’re going to lose,” Money said. 

The breaking point of this special session came during Republicans’ attempt at passing a redistricting map that would create more Republican seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“It’s time for the Democrats to get back and do their jobs and represent their districts and have a debate and a discussion where that’s supposed to happen,” State Rep. Cole Hefner, a Republican of Lindale, said. 

Hefner said committee meetings are still happening and bills are passing out of the calendar committee, but now they want to bring those items to the floor.

“We have four or five flood relief, flood-related bills to do with the Kerrville floods, the central Texas floods, and those are top of the list priorities,” Hefner said. “Of course, the redistricting is going to be important for the direction of our nation, and so there’s a lot of business to be done here.”

Hefner also said the East Texas groundwater fight is still at the front of his mind this session.

“East Texas, we’re outnumbered by the big cities, but we are the representatives here in East Texas are united in protecting our private property owners’ property rights,” Hefner said. 

On the other side of the aisle, Democratic minority leader in the Texas House, State Rep. Gene Wu announced in a press conference in Illinois on Wednesday that he will continue their fight and will take their movement beyond Texas.

“To take away our voice and our power, other states will make sure that it does not matter what they do, that we will nullify their actions,” Wu said. “We will make it pointless for them to attack our democracy.”

Through this process, Republican state lawmakers are now calling for stronger actions to bring the missing representatives back.

“I think that there is going to be punishment for the people who left and abdicated their duties,” Money said. 

The next scheduled session is on Friday, if no quorum is reached again Governor Greg Abbott says he will end this first special session and immediately call for a second one, vowing to not stop until his legislative priorities are passed.

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