AUSTIN — A Fort Worth lawmaker said on Monday that she can't leave the Texas House chambers because she won't agree to round-the-clock monitoring by state troopers, which the GOP speaker is requiring of Democrats who fled the state.
GOP Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows is requiring the Democrats, who broke quorum in an effort to stop a Republican redistricting plan, to be escorted by state troopers in order to leave the House chamber.
But late Monday, after the day’s business concluded, Rep. Nicole Collier of Fort Worth remained, saying she would not agree to such monitoring of the legislators.
“I don’t know how long I will be here,” she wrote in a statement to the Fort Worth Report. “Instead of DPS officers looking for pedophiles, they have been assigned to follow Democratic state representatives around only to ensure their return to the Capitol on Wednesday (when the House reconvenes). I sure hope the public feels safe without those officers on beat.”
Tarrant County’s four House Democrats returned on the opening day of a second special session on Monday, fulfilling the quorum required to conduct business. The Texas House Democrats fled the state during the first special session to stop a vote on a proposed congressional redistricting map that could potentially flip seats in favor of Republican candidates.
Burrows’ requirement for round-the-clock security escorts on the returning members followed measures earlier threatened — such as civil arrests and potential expulsion — when more than 50 Democrats left for Illinois and other states two weeks ago to block the redistricting plan.
Republican Rep. Charlie Geren, a fellow Fort Worth House member who chairs the House Administration Committee that enforces rules and procedures inside the chamber, met with Collier, outlining the limits on her protest.
Geren said Collier told him “she would not sign the paper” permitting the Department of Public Safety escort. As a result, Geren said Collier can remain in the chamber or go to her office but is not permitted to leave the Capitol grounds.
His Fort Worth colleague was the only member who remained inside the chamber, Geren said, although other members visited with her, including House Democratic Caucus Chairman Gene Wu and fellow Fort Worth Democrat Chris Turner of Grand Prairie.
Wu took photographs of Collier that were circulated to the media as news photographers weren’t allowed inside the locked chamber.
“I’ve got utmost respect and admiration for Rep. Collier and her principled stand in refusing to consent to having a law-enforcement escort,” Turner said.
Collier, Turner and fellow Tarrant Democratic Reps. Ramon Romero of Fort Worth and Salman Bhojani of Euless participated in the so-called quorum break. Bhojani at first went to Pakistan for a family medical emergency before joining colleagues in Illinois.
Although passage of the redistricting effort backed by President Donald Trump seems assured, the Tarrant Democrats echoed others in proclaiming that their actions ignited a “national conversation.”
“We knew that this was something we were not going to be able to stop,” Romero said. “We could slow it down, though, and that’s exactly what we did.”
Gov. Greg Abbott and other GOP leaders have assailed the absentee Democrats for abdicating their responsibilities and constitutional duties. Turner was among lawmakers Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sought to oust from office for breaking quorum.
“The rogue Democrat legislators who fled the state have abandoned their duties, leaving their seats vacant,” Paxton said in an Aug. 8 statement. “These cowards deliberately sabotaged the constitutional process and violated the oath they swore to uphold.”
The Texans drew support from Democratic governors in California and New York and energized efforts to challenge the redistricting plan, Tarrant lawmakers said.
Turner said the nationally publicized walkout generated “national outrage around Trump’s mid-decade redistricting, and as a result of the fight we started, you see other states responding.”
Texas House Democrats made “gerrymandering” a household word, Collier added in her statement.
However, the Tarrant members acknowledged that their absences were accompanied by personal hardship, including time away from family and businesses back home. Bhojani said he was forced to hire security and to relocate his wife as a result of threats and efforts to post his personal information on social media.
From that standpoint, he said, the DPS escorts ordered by the House speaker could be a plus.
“I’ll feel much better that they’re protecting me,” he said.
As news of Collier’s protest widened, she was besieged by media requests, answering questions by phone on the House floor from journalists standing outside the locked chamber. A few dozen protesters gathered at the Capitol late in the evening to show her support.
Asked if she planned to sleep in the House chamber or return to her office to spend the night, Collier told NBC, “Whatever feels right for me, I’ll do it.”
Editor's note: This story was updated to reflect information from Rep. Charlie Geren.
Dave Montgomery is an Austin-based freelance reporter for the Fort Worth Report.
The Fort Worth Report’s Texas legislative coverage is supported by Kelly Hart.
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