Texas Gov. Abbott vows to arrest Democratic lawmakers who staged walkout

• Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he wants Democratic lawmakers who fled the state in a walkout to be arrested.
• The Democratics left Texas en masse on Monday to block a number of conservative bills from passing in a legislative special session.
• Two-thirds of lawmakers must be present for legislative business to proceed in Texas.
• See more stories on Insider's business page.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott promised that Democratic lawmakers who staged a walkout in the state would be arrested.

Speaking to KVUE on Tuesday, Abbott criticized Democratic lawmakers for fleeing the state en masse to block a number of conservative bills from passing in a legislative special session.

"As soon as they come back in the state of Texas, they will be arrested, they will be cabined inside the Texas Capitol until they get their job done," Abbott said.

Texas House Democratic leaders said on Monday that they had flown to Washington, DC, to "refuse to let the Republican-led legislature force through dangerous legislation that would trample on Texans' freedom to vote."

Under Texas law, two-thirds of lawmakers must be present for legislative business to proceed

Abbott convened the special session earlier this month to pass a litany of conservative priorities, including legislation targeting voting, abortion access, transgender rights, and critical race theory.

In speaking to KVUE on Tuesday, Abbott said he would "continue to call special session after special session" until Democratic lawmakers took part.

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By: [email protected] (Kelly McLaughlin)
Title: Texas Gov. Abbott vows to arrest Democratic lawmakers who staged walkout
Sourced From: feedproxy.google.com/~r/businessinsider/politics/~3/ZSdnI8qSIdc/texas-gov-abbott-vows-to-arrest-democratic-lawmakers-after-walkout-2021-7
Published Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2021 13:04:09 +0000

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