Could Texas Democrats Be Fined Or Charged For Leaving State? Here’s Why Legal Experts Are Skeptical.
Topline
Texas Democratic lawmakers who have left the state to deny the Texas House a quorum face fines and potential charges for leaving and accepting money from outside groups to fund their out-of-state stays, but legal experts suggest those consequences may be on shaky legal ground.
More than 50 Democratic lawmakers left Texas on Sunday in order to keep the state House from having enough votes to redraw the state’s congressional map to more heavily favor Republicans, with GOP officials giving Democrats until Friday to return to the state or else face consequences.
Lawmakers are already facing a $500 per day fine for each day they stay away from the legislature, based on rules the Texas House passed after the last time Democrats denied the chamber a quorum, and Republican leaders have suggested they could try to charge Democrats with bribery for accepting donations from outside political groups to fund their fines and travel out of state.
But it’s unclear if those consequences will stick: Texas law sets a high bar for proving bribery, stating an official can be prosecuted for bribery if they accepted a benefit “pursuant to an express agreement to take or withhold a specific exercise” of their office, but there has to be “direct evidence” of the bribery agreement, and it has to be clear that the official’s action would not have been taken if they didn’t get the benefit from it.
Texas-based political attorney Andrew Cates told Forbes that based on what’s publicly available about the funding Democrats are receiving, there does not appear to be any wrongdoing: “The overall idea of a group supporting the Texas Democrats as a whole or individually, just supporting them with funds, is inherently not illegal.”
Democrats could also have legal grounds to challenge the $500 daily fines, Cates said, arguing the House rule setting the fines is in “direct conflict” with Texas’ campaign finance law, because while the House says the fine can’t be paid using lawmakers’ campaign funds, Texas law allows fines and other penalties to be paid with campaign funds “if it relates to your work as an elected official.”
Since the $500 daily fines are only a House rule and aren’t enshrined in state law, Cates also speculated Republicans could have limited ability to punish Democrats if they refuse to pay, and would likely only be able to sanction them or remove money from their office budgets—though he noted the issue has never been tested, so “nobody really knows for sure.”
Nearly $400,000. That’s how much Texas Democrats could rack up in fines if they stay out of state until the Texas House’s special session ends on August 19, Politico calculated, based on the $500 daily fines and necessity for at least 51 Democrats to be absent from the legislature in order to prevent a quorum. If Democrats stay out of state for even longer—since even if the special session ends, Abbott could just call a new one when they return—the fines could climb much higher. Staying out of state until December could cost Democrats more than $3.2 million, Politico reports. That’s when the filing deadline is for candidates to register for the 2026 midterms, meaning congressional maps would have to be set by that point and no further redistricting could take place.
Whether enough Democrats will stay away from the Texas House when it reconvenes on Friday to deny the chamber a quorum, meaning it will not be able to vote on redistricting. If that happens, Attorney General Ken Paxton has said he will move forward with lawsuits asking courts to expel Democratic lawmakers from the chamber, after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott separately filed litigation earlier this week asking the Texas Supreme Court to remove Democratic leader Gene Wu. Those lawsuits are similarly considered longshots to punish Democrats, given the Texas Supreme Court previously ruled in 2021 that lawmakers taking “quorum breaks” to stop votes is allowed in the Texas Constitution. House Republicans have also already issued warrants for Democrats’ arrest for refusing to show up to vote, though the warrants are likely to have little impact as long as lawmakers stay in states controlled by Democratic governors who will not extradite them to Texas. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said Thursday the FBI has agreed to help state law enforcement track down Democrats remaining out of state, though it is unclear on what legal grounds the agency has to do so as lawmakers do not face any federal charges.
Powered by People, a left-leaning political group led by former Texas congressman and Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke, reportedly covered many of Democrats’ initial costs of leaving the state, including air travel and lodging, though ABC News reports the organization is donating to the Texas House Democratic Caucus, rather than to any individual members or paying for individual expenses. Other groups reportedly include the Texas Justice Fund, which is affiliated with the Lone Star Project, and Texas Majority PAC, which is backed by billionaire megadonor George Soros.Paxton has announced investigations into Powered by People and Texas Majority PAC over whether they broke any laws by funding Democrats’ out-of-state stays, though there’s so far no sign of any wrongdoing by either group. Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin also confirmed to Forbes the national group is aiding Texas lawmakers through its organizing and data teams.
Paxton was himself tried for impeachment in 2023 on charges including bribery, after being accused of accepting bribes from donor and friend Nate Paul. The Republican-controlled Texas Senate ultimately acquitted him of the charges. Paxton also separately settled state criminal charges for alleged securities fraud.
Texas Democrats left the state in order to block plans by their GOP colleagues to add an additional five congressional seats that would favor Republicans. Their decision to leave Texas repeats a tactic that the Texas Democrats have used multiple times in order to stymie the GOP-controlled legislature, most recently in 2021. Republicans have started eyeing redistricting—which typically only takes place every 10 years—ahead of the 2026 midterms, given historical patterns suggesting Democrats, as the minority party, are likely to pick up seats if the map stays the same. In addition to Texas, officials in GOP-controlled states including Indiana, Florida and Missouri have also floated redrawing their congressional maps. That’s prompted some Democratic-led states to consider redistricting in order to balance out any gains Republicans make with House seats, with New York, Illinois and California among those where officials have suggested they could update their maps.