{"id":329940,"date":"2026-06-10T01:03:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T01:03:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/329940\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T01:03:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T01:03:18","slug":"talarico-hinojosa-other-texas-democrats-have-yet-to-pay-fines-for-quorum-break","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/329940\/","title":{"rendered":"Talarico, Hinojosa, other Texas Democrats have yet to pay fines for quorum break"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"StateTexas House Rep. Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, stops for a photo on the campaign trail. Credit: Courtesy Photo \/ Gina Hinojosa for Texas Governor<\/p>\n

A total of 17 Democrats in the Texas House \u2014\u00a0including three now running for statewide office \u2014 are holding out on paying fines chamber leadership imposed over last summer\u2019s quorum break<\/a> to halt Gov. Greg Abbott\u2019s redistricting efforts.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, some Texas Dems who did cough up the financial penalty by the May 5 deadline, including San Antonio State Rep. Diego Bernal, scrawled F.U. messages on their checks.<\/p>\n

The three Democrats running for statewide office who haven\u2019t yet paid their fines are U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico, gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa and Vikki Goodwin, who\u2019s running for lieutenant governor.<\/p>\n

The three Democrats\u2019 individual campaigns didn\u2019t immediately respond to the Current\u2019s request for comment. However, if they fail to pay their fines, a portion of their official office budgets could be withheld, under House rules.<\/p>\n

At least one San Antonio rep, outgoing lawmaker Ray Lopez, is also on the list of those who haven\u2019t yet paid. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the messages some fine-paying Democratic lawmakers left in the \u201cmemo\u201d sections of their checks let House leadership know just how they felt, according to reporting by online news site Texas Voice.<\/p>\n

State Rep. Ana Maria Ramos, who represents a district north of Dallas, wrote \u201cHijos de puta\u201d on her check, which roughly translates to \u201csons of bitches.\u201d<\/p>\n

San Antonio\u2019s Bernal simply wrote \u201cB.S.\u201d on his.<\/p>\n

Texas Democrats scattered across the country to block last year\u2019s mid-period redistricting, which Abbott ordered after President Donald Trump demanded that Texas\u00a0draw up five new congressional seats. The president issued the request to stave off midterm Republican losses in the U.S. House. <\/p>\n

Democrats in the Texas House fled the state to shut down the effort, which they argued would disenfranchise voters. Despite the quorum breaking, Republicans successfully completed the redistricting.<\/p>\n

Most fines imposed on Democratic lawmakers for the quorum break were around $6,000 with another $2,400 in fees thrown in to cover Department of Public Safety expenses, Texas Voice reports. <\/p>\n

Sign Up for SA Current newsletters.<\/a><\/p>\n

Follow us:\u00a0Apple News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Google News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0NewsBreak<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Reddit<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Facebook\u00a0<\/a>| Twitter<\/a>\u00a0| Or sign up for our\u00a0RSS Feed<\/a><\/p>\n

Related Stories<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"4\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tWhat most fans saw as a tense nail-biter, as San Antonio clawed its way to a 115-111 victory, was apparently a snooze fest for the Napper in Chief. \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"San\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tUniversity officials said the campus is the first in Texas to provide such a reduced-time degree. \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Talarico,\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tSome Dems in the Texas Lege who did pay the penalty, including San Antonio\u2019s Diego Bernal, wrote kiss-off messages on their checks. \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\u200b<\/p>\n

\t