State of Texas: Republican response to quorum break puts pressure on Democrats

AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- Friday afternoon, members of the Texas House registered their attendance at the start of a scheduled session. The sound of a bell ringing filled the chamber as lights on the boards at the front of the room lit up, signaling each member in attendance.

"Have all members registered?" House Speaker Dustin Burrows asked, before bringing down the gavel.

The roll call showed 95 members present, five members short of a quorum, leaving the House without enough members to conduct official business. More than 50 Democratic lawmakers left the state late Sunday night, breaking quorum with the goal of stalling Republicans’ mid-decade redistricting proposal.

The quorum break comes after Texas Republicans released a plan to redraw voting districts to increase the likelihood of GOP candidates winning more seats in Congress. President Donald Trump called for Texas to draw maps to add five Republican seats. The plan before the Texas House creates five more Republican-leaning districts when compared to the districts currently in place.

"They take away the voice and the vote of Texans, and I don't agree with that. So I'm very proud to be here in opposition of the map," State Rep. Aicha Davis, D - Dallas said. She spoke from Chicago, where several of the Texas Democrats headed after leaving the state. Other members have held news conferences in New York, Massachusetts, and California.

Burrows condemned the Democrats who left for holding the state “hostage,” issuing warrants for their civil arrest to get the special session back on track.

“Each one of you knows that eventually you will come back and we will pass the priorities of the special session,” House Speaker Dustin Burrows said, in hopes of sending a message to the absent Democrats. “But with each passing day, the political cost of your absence is rising, and it will be paid in full.”

Texas Democrats have broken quorum before, but the response this time is different. Republican leaders have called on the state supreme court and even the FBI to help get the lawmakers back to Austin. Legal action is also targeting groups donating funds to help lawmakers who are breaking quorum.

Friday afternoon, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton touted the first court victory against the Democratic quorum break. The Tarrant County District Court placed a temporary restraining order against Beto O'Rourke and his organization Powered by People.

"The Court issues this Temporary Restraining Order, immediately restraining Defendants from the following: Using political funds for the improper, unlawful, and non-political purposes of (1)
funding out-of-state travel, hotel, or dining accommodations or services to
unexcused Texas legislators during any special legislative session called by the
Texas Governor, or (2) funding payments of fines provided by Texas House rules
for unexcused legislative absences," the decision, signed by Judge Megan Fahey, said. It also prevents Powered by People and O'Rourke from raising more funds for the quorum-breaking efforts and from moving any funds outside of the state.

“The Beto Bribe buyouts that were bankrolling the runaway Democrats have been officially stopped,” said Attorney General Ken Paxton. “People like [O'Rourke] believe Texas can be bought. Today, I stopped his deceptive financial influence scheme that attempted to deceive donors and subvert our constitutional process. They told me to ‘come and take it,’ so I did.”

"They want to make examples out of those who fight so that others won't," Beto said in a statement. "Paxton is trying to shut down Powered by People, one of the largest voter registration organizations in the country, because our volunteers fight for voting rights and free elections… the kind of work that threatens the hold that Paxton, Trump, and Abbott have on power in Texas."

A source familiar with the quorum breakers aren't especially worried about the temporary restraining order against O'Rourke and his team. They say money coming in small amounts from individual donors is helping in the interim.

Fahey ordered a hearing for 10 a.m. on Tuesday to discuss the issue further.

Wu responds to Abbott; other lawmakers weigh in

On Friday, State Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, filed his official response to Gov. Greg Abbott's attempt to have the Texas Supreme Court remove him from office.

"The Governor petitions this court to have five justices do what our Constitution grants only two-thirds of the House of Representatives the power to do: expel Representative Wu," the filing opens.

On Friday, Wu talked to Nexstar about his initial reactions to the lawsuit.

"I laughed out loud when I saw the suit, because this is, it's, frankly, it's embarrassing," Wu said. "I get maybe he's just putting on a political show, trying to scare us, try to show his primary voters what a bad a** he is. But to anybody who's an attorney, who knows what the law is, people are falling out of their chairs laughing."

In addition to Wu's response, State Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, and State Rep. Mary Gonzalez, D-El Paso, filed a letter with the Supreme Court arguing in Wu's favor.

"What would be a constitutional crisis is this Court un-electing nearly every
member of the minority party over lawfully resisting the majority," the pair wrote. "This legislative battle began because legislators wanted to pick their voters. This legal battle
would cut voters out entirely and allow a partisan governor to pick his legislators. That puts us on the brink of naked authoritarianism. This Court should take no part in hurtling us over that edge into the endless darkness below."

On the opposing side, State Rep. Mitch Little, R-Carrollton, and State Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, filed a letter with the court to support Abbott's argument.

"This is an area of law that can be very confusing. It's confusing even lawyers," Little said. "There's some questions still about who has the authority and jurisdiction to bring these vacature petitions, and our hope is to contribute to that discussion with the Texas Supreme Court."

Cain admitted the court has a difficult decision.

"I don't expect them to declare the seat vacant today," Cain said. "After all, essentially it does still kind of challenge what the sovereign people have elected, so there's gotta be some kind of balance. But certainly, I think at some point the goal is to question whether that person's planning to come back. Is this going to be too prolonged? Have they essentially abandoned their district or abandoned the state?"

Paxton decides to up the ante

While Abbott only filed to declare Wu's seat vacant, Paxton filed a new petition with the Texas Supreme Court on Friday to vacate 13 Democratic seats.

Paxton targeted Wu along with:

• State Rep. Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City
• State Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin
• State Rep. Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin
• State Rep. Lulu Flores, D-Austin
• State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin
• State Rep. Mihaela Plesa, D-Plano
• State Rep. Suleman Lalani, D-Sugar Land
• State Rep. John Bucy III, D-Austin
• State Rep. Chris Turner, D-Arlington
• State Rep. Ana-Maria Ramos, D-Richardson
• State Rep. Christina Morales, D-Houston
• State Rep. Jessica Gonzalez, D-Dallas

“The rogue Democrat legislators who fled the state have abandoned their duties, leaving their seats vacant,” said Paxton. “These cowards deliberately sabotaged the constitutional process and violated the oath they swore to uphold. Their out-of-state rebellion cannot go unchecked, and the business of Texas must go on. I have asked the Texas Supreme Court to declare what has been clear from the beginning: that the runaway members have officially vacated their offices in the Texas House.”

Bucy responded quickly.

"It’s now more clear than ever that Republicans are scared. They’re scared of the voters. They’re scared of being held accountable. And they’re scared that Texas Democrats are united in our resolve to defeat Trump’s power grab and protect our democracy, our constitution, and our country," he said. "If defending democracy is a crime, I’m proud to be an outlaw.”

While Wu said he's confident the facts of the case are on his side, he has some reservations about the makeup of the all-Republican Texas Supreme Court, with six of the nine justices having been appointed by Abbott.

"The only real fear in this [is] that the level of corruption has not only spread from the White House into the state house, but is now spread into our courthouses as well," Wu said. "I'm afraid that [Abbott] might be calling them at night and saying, 'Hey, remember who gave you your your job, right?' You need to take care of this."

Lawmaker floats banning camps from flood zones, industry reps react

Youth camp representatives faced state lawmakers Wednesday to propose and push back on some ideas aimed at making sites safer following the deadly July 4 Hill County flooding.

"Should one of the standards be that you just don't have overnight accommodations in the flood plain?," asked Rep. Cody Vasut, R-Angleton, during a morning meeting of the House Culture, Recreation and Tourism Committee meeting.

"That is certainly one way, if there's no bunk houses in the flood plain, that you've mitigated that particular risk in a very firm way," responded Dr. Timothy Stevenson, the Deputy Commissioner for Consumer Protection with the Texas Department of State Health Services, which has oversight over camps.

Steve Baskin, who owns a camp in Marble Falls and is board chair of the American Camp Association, pushed back.

"There are ways to build cabins in flood zones safely," he told KXAN. "And there are ways I would not build cabins -- particularly in flash flood areas. Again, it's very specific to different sites."

Baskin cited the cooling factor of being located near lakes, rivers and creeks during Texas summers. He said decisions on where to build should be decided on a case-by-case basis.

"A flash flood's different than a flood," he said. "I've been there for 30 years and our worst flood ever was fixed with a Shop-Vac."

For some of the proposals, there could be industry push back. Camp Mystic was able to get the Federal Emergency Management Agency to remove dozens of its buildings from the 100-year flood map, potentially lowering its insurance costs and making expansion easier, according to an Associated Press report.

'Firm foundation of safety'

For Baskin, the search for solutions is deeply personal.

His 68-year-old cousin was the director at Camp Heart O' the Hills in Hunt, located two miles from Camp Mystic. She had been involved with the camp for four decades and died at her home during last month's flooding, according to Baskin.

"A week before this happened, if you went to anyone in the industry and say, 'Who is the kindest camp director in America?,'" he told KXAN, tearfully. "They would have said Jane Ragsdale."

Testifying before lawmakers, he said Ragsdale wanted to "positively impact children" but knew it "can only be done on a firm foundation of safety and health."

To reinforce that foundation, lawmakers heard testimony from camp industry representatives and the state body that oversees camps.

"This is some heavy stuff and I really appreciate y'all being part of the solution," Baskin told lawmakers.

He "strongly" recommended camps have National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather radios "partly because they work even when the power is out." Under the Texas Administrative Code, weather radios are not required at camps but emergency phones are, a KXAN investigation previously found.

Meg Clark, who owns Camp Waldemar, an all-girls site about 11 miles from Camp Mystic in Kerr County, said what works for them is regularly updating their emergency and evacuation plans and reviewing them with first responders in person.

"Safety is just not a box that we check," Clark told lawmakers. "It's actually a culture that we are cultivating in everything we do, in all of our training, in the way we're laid out, and everything that we speak. It is truly in the forefront of our mind at all times."

Clark and Baskin both gently pushed back against warning sirens -- one potential solution that is frequently discussed.

"I have mixed emotions," said Clark. "It would depend on the sound -- I mean to get right down to it -- how it sounds. If it's so alarming to children, that worries me, to traumatize children. I would want to be very cautious."

"It would also have to do with the frequency it would be used," said Baskin. "If this is something that triggers only when the water reaches a certain level, I want that thing loud, I want everyone's attention, I want them scared. But if we're going to test it weekly during the summer to make sure everything's OK, that's not a great idea."

ACA standards wouldn't have 'made a difference'

At a Tuesday hearing of the House Committee on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding, Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, said it was apparent "some of our camps were not just wholly unprepared for this catastrophic event, they were wholly unprepared for any flooding event."

“Being ill equipped to handle a flood as a private citizen is one thing,” Darby added. “But, as a camp ground in charge of the lives of children — many of whom know nothing about the rivers or their dangers — is malpractice.”

That committee heard five bills, which were left pending, related to the flood. One would require camps to submit annual disaster flood plans to the Texas Division of Emergency Management. Under the proposal, TDEM must approve them, and any corrections made within 90 days, in order to avoid fines.

In Kerr County, at least 117 people were killed during the flooding including 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic. At a hearing in Kerrville last week, local officials told lawmakers the storm came too quick, without warning and the destruction was largely unavoidable.

Camp Mystic passed a state inspection on July 2, two days before the deadly flood, a KXAN investigation previously found. Stevenson testified that around 95 percent of camps are inspected each year, on average, while they are in operation.

The agency does not maintain copies of camp emergency plans, but camps are required to post them clearly in every building.

In addition to inspecting camps, under a new law, Stevenson said his staff are now responsible for also inspecting 12,000 food trucks and mobile vendors.

"These same retail inspectors will be splitting their time with those as well," he told lawmakers. "So, it is a little bit of a juggling act looking at the resources for our inspectors."

As KXAN previously found, unlike eight other camps in Kerr County, Camp Mystic was not nationally accredited by the ACA, which recommends voluntary compliance with up to 266 health and safety standards.

On Tuesday, Rep. Terry Wilson, R-Georgetown, asked if any of the state should "reflect on" and "examine" the ACA's accreditation standards "to see if there's something that should be added to the licensure process."

Baskin said lawmakers should look at "anything that can help make camps safer." However, he isn't sure his organization's standards would have made a difference in Camp Mystic's case given the flood's ferocity.

"Do you think that played any role, or could have made a difference in how the response was handled?," KXAN investigative reporter Matt Grant asked.

"My understanding is, the nature of the flood, I don't believe so," Baskin responded.

"No," he added after pausing. "I don't think that would have a made a difference."

Flood exposes death inquest concerns, prompts bill

Concerns surrounding Texas’ system for investigating deaths re-emerged this week at the State Capitol during a House hearing in response to recent fatal flooding.

“Members, this bill is not a cure for disasters,” the chair of the Select Committee on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding, Rep. Ken King, R-Canadian, said as he laid out House Bill 1. “But with proper planning, we can prevent some of the devastation that we experienced during the July 4 flooding, Hurricane Harvey and last year’s Panhandle wildfires.”

The measure – among several flood-related items considered Tuesday as part of Gov. Greg Abbott’s special session call – largely focuses on the state’s 900-plus justices of the peace, a handful of whom drew concerns last month surrounding flood victim backlogs and identification issues from the public and other leaders. Statewide, at least 135 people died in that weekend’s weather event. Of those, 117 were in Kerr County, where inundated justices relied on medical examiners from Bexar and Travis counties for necessary autopsies, along with teams from the University of North Texas Health Science Center for rapid DNA testing.

“We have great justices of the peace all over the state – frontline citizens, frontline elected officials doing a tremendous amount of work,” Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd told lawmakers. “I think in certain circumstances when we have an overwhelming event like this was there is always the need for additional resource understanding and capability.”

Kidd said local officials also tapped the Texas Department of State Health Services, funeral home partners and other mass fatality experts to help justices there identify victims quicker, make decisions on when to order autopsies and “make sure the right body was getting to the right family.”

“What this (bill) would do is to help institutionalize that, make it more formalized and bring them to the scene to help support on scene the work that needs to be done by the JPs,” he added.

While King said HB 1 will require “tweaking” before it moves forward in the legislative process, it currently aims to establish a framework for DSHS, in collaboration with TDEM, to develop a training program for justices on “managing mass fatality events,” including:

• Decision-making protocols for autopsy referrals;
• Standards for identifying and documenting bodies;
• Collecting and reporting data regarding missing persons; and
• Coordinating efforts with multiple governmental agencies during mass fatality events.

Justices who fail to take the training during the first year they are elected could be removed from office, according to the bill, which was left pending in committee.

“We don’t know what the next disaster is,” King said. “We don’t know what form it’s going to take or when it’s going to come. What we can do is mitigate the devastation that comes with the next disaster, and this is just one of the bills that is attempting to do that.”

‘Prepared for a mass casualty’

One member of the committee, Rep. Terry Wilson, R-Georgetown, questioned the need to standardize more forensic expertise on-site during a disaster.

“Maybe the state needs to look to requirements in terms of having a medical examiner present in preparation, in being prepared for a mass casualty because that can be extremely overwhelming to just four JPs,” Wilson said.

Texas has 254 counties. Medical examiners – doctors trained to conduct autopsies and determine cause of death – are used in just 14 counties for inquests. The state has one medical examiner district based around Tarrant County.

The remaining counties use justices of the peace to certify deaths. Most of those have three or four such positions each, though around 70 counties have only one. The state’s “Inquest Law,” from the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, gives justices of the peace authority to investigate deaths including those unattended, unnatural, in prison, caused by unlawful means and for children younger than six.

If a case needs further investigation, justices can send bodies for autopsies to counties with a medical examiner or use a local, private forensics firm. Each county doing so pays a fee for that service.

Speaking on HB 1 Tuesday, Angela Williams, a justice of the peace in Williamson County where three people died during last month’s flooding, said making decisions during largescale disasters can be even more daunting, if officials are unaccustomed to large caseloads. She estimated, in recent months, she and her three counterparts have collectively averaged 25 to 35 deaths each week in their growing area.

“(That) is not typical in many of our smaller counties operating under the JP system,” Williams said. “Recognizing the challenges this presents… we want to offer support – JPs with extensive experience and the capacity to manage high-volume inquest situations are willing to serve as a resource for our communities and our counties that need that additional support.”

Some members of the committee seemed interested in how experienced justices could be involved in the mass fatality rapid response teams also detailed in the bill. The collaborative idea would be to quickly deploy and connect local and state entities to help justices and other officials better respond to a disaster, including:

• Tracking the chain-of-custody for a body and associated personal effects;
• Storing in an easily retrievable manner documentation of an autopsy, identification and release of a body; and
• Providing real-time status updates and notifications for close relatives of a victim of a mass fatality.

“I think it was obvious that (the justices) did the best they could, but there was a reality that they never expected something like this to happen,” said Rep. Wes Virdell, R-Brady, who represents Kerr County and sits on the committee. “I don’t want to say they weren’t prepared, but this was new territory for them and they were just trying to figure out their way through that.”

Kidd agreed justices across the state could play a part in the proposal but the July flooding proved the value of involving DSHS, the Texas Funeral Commission and medical examiners for expertise justices may not have.

“There were some questions the JPs … here had about – how do we do time of death if we don’t do an autopsy?” he said. “And (those entities) were able to come in and help them understand how the disaster response piece of that could work. That’s what this training would do on the front end to make sure that (justices) understood the scope of powers that are available to them.”

‘Beneficial to all counties’

Justices of the peace already receive some training on death inquests including when to order an autopsy. It is provided by the Texas Justice Court Training Center, which was established in 1971 and affiliated with Texas State University in San Marcos. The Center is funded by a grant from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and provides education for justices of the peace, constables and court personnel.

Justices are required to go through 80 hours upon election, and then 20 hours of additional training every year which covers duties of the office, civil and criminal trial procedures and death investigations. A representative of the Justices of the Peace and Constables Association of Texas – an industry advocacy and education organization – told lawmakers the initial training includes six hours on inquests, while subsequent training on the topic varies.

“(The inquest training) is somewhat limited, so continuing education – we do need additional training in this issue that we’re dealing with currently,” Williams said.

Training is offered both in-person and virtually. Those sessions focused on death investigations cover parts of the inquest process including initial investigation, communicating with families, working with a medical examiner’s office, completing death certificates and reporting. Additionally, TJCTC offers webinars and other workshops which cover a number of other topics — autopsies and body transportation, conversations with a medical examiner focused on cause and manner of death, challenges that may arise during a death investigation and interpreting toxicology reports. 

Williams said, ideally, the mass casualty training addition would also be administered through TJCTC.

“It should be beneficial to all counties regardless of what your population size is,” she said. “Smaller counties may not handle that many inquests so it may not be up to that level of being able to process in a timely manner.

Still, in recent months, Williamson County hired death investigators to supplement the work done by Williams and her colleagues. And the county recently purchased property to establish a medical examiner’s office in the near future – eventually eliminating the need for justices there to perform inquests.

‘Still not enough’

KXAN has reported extensively on challenges with Texas’ approach to investigating death – a system that is unique in the U.S. and dates back two centuries. Unlike coroners in other states who focus solely on inquests, Texas’ justices of the peace have additional duties. As judges, they rule on small claims cases, oversee low-level misdemeanors and handle marriages.

Justices also have no required prerequisite medical experience. Medical examiner office advocates have argued these government outlets – led by appointed medical doctors – provide a higher level of expertise and public service.

Currently, Texas counties are only statutorily required to have medical examiner offices when their population hits 2.5 million. SB 1370, a failed measure last spring in the regular legislative session, aimed to decrease the benchmark to 1 million.

Though they aren’t required, a handful of counties in Texas with populations much lower than 2.5 million, or even 1 million, have opted for medical examiner offices.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, told KXAN at the time he would like to see an interim charge to look at how Texas can lure more medical examiners to the state. TV shows have popularized medical examiners’ work, but “there’s still not enough” to fill demand.

“We are paying, at the county level, some of the highest salaries in the entirety of county government to medical examiners,” Anchia said. “We just need more people who are specialized in this work, and creating an incentive program makes total sense.”

The idea for the interim charge came after Anchia fielded questions from other House members about the availability of physicians with forensic science training who could fill the state’s potential need for medical examiners. Experts have said there is a shortage of such doctors actively practicing, with the National Association of Medical Examiners recently telling KXAN the number was around 750 nationwide.

Texas woman receives lottery winnings after six-months of waiting

A Texas woman finally received her winnings from a $83.5 million lottery jackpot ticket after a six months of waiting and a legal battle when state officials refused to pay pending a Texas Rangers investigation.

Kristen Moriarty received approximately $34 million, after taxes, from her Feb. 17 Lotto Texas win, her attorney Randy Howry announced. The payout came just days before a scheduled court hearing that could have forced the state to release the funds.

"What should have been a life-changing celebration in her life, winning the Texas lottery, turned out to be a stress-filled, painful ordeal," Howry said during a press conference. "They held her winnings hostage as they sought to dismantle the Texas lottery."

Moriarty purchased $20 worth of lottery tickets through DraftKings, a third-party courier app that allows players to buy official state lottery tickets online. When she attempted to claim her winnings, the Texas Lottery Commission refused payment amid a legislative push to ban such apps.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick had made eliminating the Texas lottery a priority during the 2025 legislative session. The day after Moriarty's win, Patrick filmed a video where the winning ticket was printed. Although Moriarty purchased the ticket online, through a lottery courier service, the physical ticket was printed at a store in Austin called Winners Corner.

“It is a hard line, couriers have to go,” Patrick said during the legislative session. His worries stemmed from an April 2023 drawing in which a single entity used lottery couriers to purchase more than $25 million worth of tickets to nearly guarantee a $95 million jackpot win.

Lawmakers questioned lottery officials as to how this could have happened. The director, Ryan Mindell, officially moved to ban lottery couriers after Moriarty's win. Gov. Greg Abbott then called on the Texas Rangers to investigate the win.

"Governor Abbott tried to move the goal posts in the middle of the football game despite the fact that Kristen Moriarty had played by all the rules," Howry said. "There's nothing in the Texas lottery rules that says if a person wins, their ticket's validated, they are the winner, that we can order a ranger investigation."

The Texas legislature has since criminalized courier apps and banned purchases of more than 100 tickets in a single transaction. However, because Moriarty won before the rule changes took effect.

State attorneys initially claimed sovereign immunity in the case, arguing officials could not be compelled to pay. However, on Tuesday night before Friday's scheduled court hearing, the state capitulated and agreed to process the payout.

"We held Governor Abbott, we held Lieutenant Governor Patrick accountable and said, 'You can't treat people this way,'" Howry said.

A spokesperson for the Texas Lottery said it decided to pay out the winnings after guidance from the Office of the Attorney General. Nexstar reached out to the OAG to ask why it decided to pay out the winnings even though the Texas Rangers are still investigating Moriarty's win, and have not received a response.

Howry said the majority of lottery tickets were purchased through apps before the recent ban, calling the prohibition "ludicrous" given that people buy "everything via app" these days.

The Texas Lottery Commission is scheduled to be abolished Sept. 1, with oversight transferring to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. A spokesperson for TDLR said the top priorities for Sept. 1 are to ensure lottery employees receive their paychecks and all vendors, and winners, receive their payments. The spokesperson said they are confident both will happen.

They also confirmed that most lottery employees will remain on staff under the TDLR Lottery and Charitable Bingo Division. Sergio Rey, who was sued by Moriarty to pay her winnings, will remain as the interim Lottery and Charitable Bingo Deputy Executive Director, according to the TDLR spokesperson.