The Blast - August 22, 2025

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The Blast | Texas Tribune
August 22, 2025

By Renzo Downey and The Texas Tribune Politics Team

22 days until sine die
78 days until the candidate filing period begins
108 days until the candidate filing deadline

IN TODAY’S BLAST

  • Penalties for quorum breakers

  • Abortion pill and bathroom bills finally move

  • Filibuster incoming

PENALTIES FOR QUORUM BREAKERS

Well, our claim from Wednesday’s Blast that “no punishment is guaranteed for Democrats” lasted all of 10 minutes.

Shortly after we pushed out The Blast, Gov. Greg Abbott added three items to the special session call, including creating penalties for state lawmakers who break quorum.

Abbott didn’t name the specific penalties or punishments he wants implemented, and putting it on the call doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to happen. But it gives Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows and the Republicans the nudge to do what some within the caucus have been itching to do.

And Democrats know they’ll have to accept some form of punishment for breaking the rules. After all, they did vote for the House rules in the 2023 and 2025 sessions, including the fines for breaking quorum.

One punishment bill that’s picked up steam would declare a lawmaker’s seat vacant if the lawmaker accrues seven consecutive unexcused absences. Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, filed that as House Bill 64 last Friday, and Sen. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, filed an identical version yesterday as Senate Bill 48.

What’s more, HB 64 picked up 75 additional joint authors and coauthors on Wednesday, enough to pass the House. The list of cosigners includes the usual hardliner suspects but also key members of Burrows’ leadership team, including:

  • Appropriations Committee Chair Greg Bonnen of Friendswood

  • Public Education Committee Chair Brad Buckley of Salado

  • Natural Resources Committee Chair Cody Harris of Palestine

  • Homeland Security, Public Safety and Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chair Cole Hefner of Mount Pleasant

  • Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee Chair Jeff Leach of Allen

  • Local and Consent Calendars Committee Chair Jared Patterson of Frisco

The list also has two former speakers who had to deal with quorum breaks, Rep. Tom Craddick of Midland and newly retiring Rep. Dade Phelan of Beaumont.

Together, that’s a strong endorsement for that approach.

HB 64 has been referred to the State Affairs Committee. SB 48 hasn’t yet been referred to a Senate committee.

Additionally, Rep. Matt Shaheen, a Plano Republican who chairs the Elections Committee, filed HB 18 yesterday with little fanfare, and he’s already scheduled it for a hearing. That bill would cap political donations to lawmakers who are breaking quorum.

HB 18 would ban donations greater than a day’s worth of per diem. It would also ban campaign dollars from being spent on travel, food and lodging in connection with the quorum break. Each person making or accepting an illegal contribution would face up to a $5,000 fine for each violation. And when they go to court, the new all-Republican 15th Court of Appeals would hear any appeal to the case.

The bill’s low number signals it’s a priority of House leadership and has been blessed by Burrows. Late this afternoon, Shaheen scheduled the bill for a Monday morning hearing in his Elections Committee.

With about three weeks until sine die, expect the penalty legislation to come into focus very soon.

As for the monetary punishments, House Administration Committee Chair Charlie Geren of Fort Worth has tallied up members’ fines to around $9,000 to $10,000 for the quorum break.

House rules allow members a hearing before the committee to dispute those fines. Members may also submit a letter disputing the charges. Those letters are due by noon on Monday.

But as Republicans discovered this summer, fines alone won’t kill quorum breaks.

“Fined $10k for quorum break,” Rep. Venton Jones, D-Dallas, posted on social media. “And I’d do it again in order to protect the rights of my constituents.”

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ABORTION PILL AND BATHROOM BILLS FINALLY MOVE

In addition to the legislative penalties, House leadership is starting to move a couple conservative priorities that historically have stalled in that chamber.

Today, the House State Affairs Committee heard the abortion pill crackdown (House Bill 7), named the Woman and Child Protection Act, and the “bathroom bill” (Senate Bill 8), which would limit transgender people’s use of restrooms in government buildings.

Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Allen, is carrying the abortion pill bill through the House again. A prior version, Senate Bill 2440, passed out of the committee in May but died because the committee report didn’t reach the House Calendars Committee by the end-of-session deadline. Conservatives have pilloried Chair Ken King, R-Canadian, for failing to quickly move the bill — and a host of other priorities — during the regular session.

Leach said he plans to work through the weekend on a committee substitute to get the new version to a place that State Affairs “can not only confidently but eagerly support.” He has a draft committee substitute he’s not happy with but hopes to present a new one tomorrow.

The House may be expediting those bills thanks to the rightward shift the chamber took this session. Nacogdoches Republican Rep. Joanne Shofner’s over-the-counter ivermectin bill (House Bill 25) was heard in the Public Health Committee today after Gov. Greg Abbott added it to the special session call. Some also view the floodgates opening this special session as retribution against Democrats for breaking quorum.

Interestingly, longtime bathroom bill champion Valoree Swanson, R-Spring, is not sponsoring SB 8 in the House. Leadership has tapped second-term Rep. Angelia Orr, R-Itasca, to shepherd the bill through the lower chamber.

Orr is an up-and-coming member. She backed Dustin Burrows for speaker and was rewarded with a spot on the Appropriations Committee, including as a chair of the subcommittee on health and human services.

Orr also has one of the tougher primary challenges ahead of her. The Bosque County GOP censured her, and at least one other county party in her Central Texas district intends to censure her as well. She didn’t have a primary challenger in 2024, but former congressional candidate Kat Wall has staked $300,000 of her own money to take her on in March 2026.

Republicans have been trying to get the bathroom bill through the House for eight years. Carrying that bill through the House could be a boon for incumbents, especially Orr, in their primaries.

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FILIBUSTER INCOMING

It’s been a long day in the Senate, where Democrats appear to have just wrapped up questioning Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, about the proposed congressional map. But buckle up, because Sen. Carol Alvarado plans to filibuster the bill as a last stand before the Legislature sends it off to Gov. Greg Abbott.

The Senate has already been considering House Bill 4 for several hours. Once each member of the Democratic caucus speaks out against the bill, Alvarado, a Democrat from Houston, says she will filibuster the maps, posting a photo of her sneakers artfully displayed over a map printout.

“Republicans think they can walk all over us. Today I’m going to kick back,” Alvarado said, warning of a long night.

Alvarado can’t filibuster for 22 days to kill the bill at sine die, but she can speak as a final symbolic protest.

  • Attorney general: U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin, is running to succeed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Read more here.

  • TX-09: State Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, launched his campaign for the proposed new Houston area district, which President Donald Trump would have won by 20 points in 2024. Read more here.

  • TX-37: U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, a 30-year veteran of Congress, says he will not run for reelection if the proposed congressional map stands. The map would draw him together with fellow Austin Democrat Greg Casar, a rising star for progressives. Read more here.

  • HD-21: Former House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, will not seek reelection. The two-term speaker announced his retirement with a Chuck Norris video. Read more here.

  • HD-71: State Rep. Stan Lambert, R-Abilene, will retire at the end of his current and fifth term. Lambert survived his 2024 primary by less than 5 points against Liz Case, who is running again. Other new candidates include Abilene City Council member Blaise Regan and Jay Hardaway, a former Abilene City Council member and former staffer to Lambert and U.S. Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Lubbock. Read more here.

  • House speaker/HD-83: Trump officially endorsed Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, after praising him throughout the redistricting process. “HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”

Just in: More all-star speakers confirmed for TribFest

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This year’s lineup just got even more exciting with the addition of state Rep. Caroline Fairly, R-Amarillo; former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder; Abby Phillip, anchor of “CNN NewsNight”; Aaron Reitz, 2026 Republican candidate for Texas attorney general; and state Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, plus 15 more.

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  • The House passed the package of flood bills yesterday. Read more here.

Highlights for next week:

  • The House Calendars Committee will meet Sunday and Monday morning to set floor calendars for the coming days.

  • The House Elections Committee will meet at 11 a.m. Monday to consider HB 18, the bill to cap political contributions and expenditures by quorum breakers.

View the full list of upcoming committee notices here and here.

The House will convene at 12 p.m. Monday.
The Senate has not yet adjourned.

  • Travis County Precinct 3 Constable Stacy Suits testified against the bathroom bill. “We don’t want to be the potty police,” he said. “We have enough trouble right now distinguishing, in law enforcement, between hemp and marijuana.”

  • California Gov. Gavin Newsom yesterday signed legislation to put the Golden State’s retaliatory redistricting on the November ballot. Unlike what Gov. Greg Abbott suggested last week, it would only take a simple majority to pass, and a Newsom internal poll put support at 57%, according to Axios.

  • Former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, will join Evan Smith for a panel at the LBJ School on Monday, and U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin, will join him on Wednesday.

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What Diego Bernal is reading: “Could there be two Spurs arena elections? Mayor Jones floats the possibility.” by Molly Smith of the San Antonio Express-News

Do you or someone in your office have a birthday you’d like mentioned? Email us.

(Aug. 23) State Rep. Brent Money, R-Greenville

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