The warrant to apprehend state Rep. Philip Cortez is the first one signed by the speaker since more than 50 House Democrats left the state to block Republicans from having the quorum needed to pass legislation during the special legislative session.
Cassandra Pollock
Cassandra Pollock was a state politics reporter for the Tribune. She joined the Tribune full-time in June 2017 after a fellowship during the 85th Texas Legislature. Pollock spent her first two years at the Trib as an engagement reporter, which meant her name likely landed in your inbox every weekday morning with “The Brief,” a newsletter on all things Texas politics and public policy. Pollock is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin’s School of Journalism. Pollock left The Texas Tribune in 2021.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Beto O’Rourke group gives $600,000 to Texas House Democrats’ stay in Washington, D.C.
Members left Texas about 10 days ago and have said they plan to stay out of state until after the special session ends Aug. 6.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Sixth Texas Democrat in Washington, D.C., tests positive for COVID-19
The Texas House Democratic Caucus, which has said it plans to not identify lawmakers who test positive, has started additional precautionary measures, such as providing daily rapid tests.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Texas House Republicans vote to track down absent Democrats and arrest them if necessary
The procedural move carries little apparent weight since the Democrats who fled the state to break quorum are beyond the jurisdiction of Texas law enforcement.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Texas House Democrats flee the state in move that could block voting restrictions bill, bring Legislature to a halt
A majority of Democrats in the Texas House left for Washington, D.C., Monday afternoon in a bid to again deny Republicans the quorum needed to pass new voting restrictions with 26 days left in a special legislative session called largely for that purpose.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Deploy law enforcement? Call another special session? Texas GOP mulls options for elections bill after Democrats leave the state
A number of House Republicans indicated that they would support what’s known as a call of the House, a procedural move that would allow law enforcement to track down lawmakers who have already fled the chamber.
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Texas Legislature 2021
GOP voting bills advance in Texas House and Senate after overnight committee hearings
Authors of the legislation are moving to ban drive-thru and 24-hour voting options, enhance access for partisan poll watchers and prohibit local election officials from proactively distributing applications to request mail-in ballots. Both bills also include language to further restrict the state’s voting-by-mail rules, including new ID requirements for absentee voters.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Texas House attempting to reset on contentious elections bill with new author, new committee in special session
The lower chamber, led by House Speaker Dade Phelan, is trying to start off on a new foot with a controversial election bill that blew up during the regular session.
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TribCast
TribCast: Previewing the special legislative session
In this week’s episode, Cassi speaks with Alexa and James about the upcoming special legislative session that starts July 8 in Austin.
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Texas Legislature 2021
“Everything is on the table”: Democrats mull options for special session, including another walkout
After killing Republicans’ priority voting bill during the regular legislative session, Democratic lawmakers are mulling how to try to stop it in the special session that starts July 8.