Democrats who abandoned their legislative posts and flew to Washington D.C. to scuttle passage of an election integrity bill can be arrested.
That's according to a ruling by the high court in Texas.
Democrats have until Thursday afternoon to respond to the ruling. They have publicly indicated plans to continue to challenge the authority to compel them to attend the legislative session.
If arrested, the Democrats would reportedly not be charged with crimes, but transported to the House chambers.
The dispute has been going on for weeks, ever since Democrats fled Texas and flew on a private jet to the nation's Capitol to avoid the vote. The bill in question was said to be assured passage if only enough lawmakers showed up to officially convene the session.
At least six of the 60 Texas Democrats who travelled to Washington D.C. reportedly contacted Covid-19 during the trip even though they said they had been vaccinated.
A lower court had blocked the arrest of Democrats. The Texas Supreme Court ruling reverses that.
The state constitution empowers either chamber of the legislature to compel the attendance of absent members. That means they can be bodily arrested and forced to go do the job they swore an oath to do. This is especially important since Texas has a biennial legislature, which officially meets only 140 days every two years. That limitation is why the governor frequently orders additional special sessions.
The Democrats are playing with fire. If their runaway tactic succeeds in preventing the legislature from passing laws because the minority can go AWOL to prevent a quorum, the legislature and the voters may reduce the requirement for a quorum. In that case, who know what crazy laws a handful of legislators might enact in the dead of night.
Arrest them and then replace them..!!