A Texas House committee authorized thousands in fines for Democratic lawmakers who left the Texas Capitol last year mid-special session in an attempt to block a new congressional map that favored Republicans.
Most quorum-breaking members are being fined more than $8,300, a spokesperson for the House Democratic Caucus confirmed.
Letters from January put the penalty at nearly $9,400 — that’s about $500 for each day of the two-week quorum break plus a portion of costs incurred to try and secure members’ attendance. The fines were lowered to adjust for two days lawmakers didn’t meet and some clerical errors, said Rep. Charlie Geren, a Fort Worth Republican who chairs the House Administration Committee.
Rep. Gene Wu, a Houston Democrat who chairs the House Democratic Caucus, said he has no regrets.
“We made the decision to break quorum to defend fair representation for Texans, and we would make that same decision again,” Wu said.
Tarrant County Democrats — Reps. Ramón Romero Jr., Salman Bhojani, Nicole Collier and Chris Turner — are among the lawmakers who broke quorum in 2025.
Much of the hearing was held behind closed doors, where quorum-breaking members were given an opportunity to address the penalty. After hours in executive session, the committee voted 6-5 to authorize the fines.
State lawmakers typically meet every 10 years after the census to draw state legislative, board of education and congressional districts. However, Gov. Greg Abbott called legislators into a 2025 special session that included mid-decade congressional redistricting.
The House has 150 members and at least 100 must be present to form a quorum and take up legislation. More than 51 Democrats broke quorum in early August over the map that positioned Republicans to pick up five seats in the U.S. House. Many headed out of state to Illinois and New York.
At that time, Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows said he’d signed civil arrest warrants for the lawmakers. The $500 fine for each day a member is absent is allowed under House rules, as is a fine equaling “the member’s pro rata share of the costs incurred by the sergeant-at-arms to secure the attendance of absentees.”
A majority of Democrats returned on Aug. 18 near the start of a second special session. They were required to have law enforcement monitoring to leave the Capitol.
Collier refused to sign off in protest and remained on the House floor for two nights. She was among the lawmakers to speak with committee members Friday, Geren said.
The new congressional map ultimately passed, but the lawmakers gained national attention for their exits as California considered redrawing its congressional districts to favor Democrats.
“The House can enforce its rules, and members can use constitutional tools when our constituents’ representation is under attack,” Wu said in his statement. “But if leadership is going to impose thousands of dollars in personal penalties, it has to provide timely notice, transparent records, and a meaningful chance to respond. That did not happen today.”
Tarrant County Democrats respond to quorum break fine
Collier, who is an attorney and represented herself in the hearing process Friday, called the process a “sham” in an interview and questioned its legitimacy.
She said the Texas Department of Public Safety, which was enlisted to help secure a quorum, wasted money and didn’t keep good records, including financial records.
For instance, Collier said it came out that the state spent $15,000 to get Rep. Joe Moody, a staff member and Rep. Mary Gonzalez in El Paso, even though they weren’t under civil warrants. Moody didn’t break quorum. Gonzalez had already returned to the Capitol, Collier said. DPS also sent a plane to Nashville, even though they were told to only secure members in Texas, she added. Collier said DPS wasn’t seeking reimbursement for either of the expenses.
Collier also said the hearing lacked due processes, like cross-examination. She said she has asked if there’s an appeal process but will pay the fine when its finalized.
“I did what my community told me,” she said, adding “my Congress person was on the chopping block – CD-33. I was not about to go help them do that.”
In the new map, the district represented by U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey was pushed out of Tarrant County and placed within Dallas County. It previously spanned both communities.
In a text message, Bhojani said he is being fined and did not testify. His fine is expected be lower than some others, because he isn’t being fined for a portion quorum break when he was in Pakistan visiting a sick family member and was given an excused absence, the lawmaker confirmed, cautioning that he hasn’t gotten a final letter about the fine amount.
“I knew that we would have to pay fines, but that’s the price you pay to defend our democracy,” he said.
Turner said he also hasn’t received formal notice, but expects its coming.
“I broke quorum to stand up for my constituents and the millions of Texans who were victims of Trump’s power grab,” he said. “I have no regrets and would do it again, because it was the right thing to do.”
Romero did not immediately return a request for comment.
As Collier expressed her frustrations over the process, she said new Republican and Democratic leadership needed. For too long, Democrats have tried to reduce harm behind the scenes, she said; the fight should be being done publicly and can’t be performative.
“We have to remember that, even if you are going to lose, even if the fix is in, you still got to fight,” Collier said. “You got to push back. I’m at the point now where they’re going to punish, penalize, silence us, whether we comply or not. Whether we compromise or not, it’s going to happen. So might as well just fight and push back and stand our ground the whole time. Let’s try something different.”