Texas Democrats face $400,000 in fines for missing special session
Texas Democratic lawmakers have left the state to protest Republican-led redistricting efforts, risking nearly $400,000 in fines imposed by Texas House rules for missing legislative sessions. Each absent lawmaker faces a daily $500 penalty, which could total over $3.2 million if they continue to skip sessions called by Governor greg Abbott.The costs also include expenses for lodging, food, and travel, which are challenging for lawmakers to cover given their low annual salaries.
to support these Democrats,several political action committees (PACs),including former Congressman Beto O’Rourke’s Powered by People PAC and Democratic megadonor George Soros’s Texas Majority PAC,have raised funds to help cover their expenses. The Democratic National Commitee and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have also contributed to the fundraising efforts. However, accepting these funds carries risks, as Governor Abbott has warned that lawmakers could face bribery charges, a serious felony in Texas.
Despite these challenges and legal threats, the Democrats remain committed to opposing what they see as unfair gerrymandering aimed at increasing Republican congressional seats. Republicans, meanwhile, have threatened further legal action, including arresting the lawmakers and potentially removing them from office if they do not return. The political standoff highlights the deep divisions and high stakes surrounding redistricting battles in Texas ahead of upcoming elections.
Democratic PACs line up to help Texas Democrats pay cost of avoiding special session
After fleeing Texas to protest Republicans’ redistricting efforts, Texas Democrats could accrue nearly $400,000 in fines that the state legislature threatened to enforce in retaliation for abandoning their duties.
Politico estimated that at least $382,500 in penalties will be racked up if Democratic lawmakers fail to return to the special legislative session, which ends on Aug. 19. Under Texas House rules approved in 2023, each lawmaker is subject to a daily fine worth $500 for missing official business. If they miss additional sessions called by Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) to pass the redrawn congressional map, those fines could total more than $3.2 million by the end of the year.
In addition to the excessive penalties, Democrats must pay for out-of-state food, lodging, and transportation. Paying off all the costs will be challenging, considering Texas House lawmakers only make $7,200 per year.
That is why multiple political action committees have banded together to support the defiant lawmakers.
Former Democratic Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s Powered by People PAC is one of the top groups funding the incurred costs. The organization, with $3.5 million in funds, has fronted much of the costs so far, the Texas Tribune reported. In 2021, Powered by People fundraised more than $700,000 for Texas House Democrats who similarly broke quorum over Republican efforts to overhaul the state’s election laws.
O’Rourke vowed on Wednesday to back Texas Democrats and praised “tens of thousands” of donors for contributing toward their costs. The former congressman predicted the 2026 election will “be decided in the summer of 2025,” referring to the Democrat-led push for redistricting in states such as California.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) split the proceeds with O’Rourke’s PAC, and the Democratic National Committee entered the mix with its own fundraising email.
Democratic megadonor George Soros’s Texas Majority PAC is also helping fundraise for the lawmakers in coordination with other groups, according to the Texas Tribune.
The Washington Examiner contacted the House Majority PAC, which focuses on electing Democrats to the House, about whether it is contributing to the fundraising effort. The group previously created the Lone Star Fund to help combat the Texas GOP’s redistricting efforts ahead of the 2026 election cycle.
However, the fundraising could be problematic for its recipients. Abbott warned Texas Democrats that if they accept the donations, they could be charged with bribery, which is a second-degree felony in Texas.
Bribery in this context may be difficult to prosecute if there is no direct evidence of the Democratic lawmakers accepting political contributions as part of “an express agreement to take or withhold” an official action, according to the state’s public bribery statute.
Despite the high costs and prosecution threats, the lawmakers said they are not discouraged and will keep fighting Texas’s gerrymandering efforts to add five more GOP congressional seats.
TEXAS HOUSE DEMOCRATS EVACUATED FROM ILLINOIS HOTEL DUE TO BOMB THREAT
“We’ll deal with the consequences later,” said Texas state Rep. John Bucy, one of more than 50 lawmakers who fled the state this week. “That’s not the important thing right now. It’s stopping Donald Trump from stealing the congressional map and winning the midterm elections through cheating.”
Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton also floated the idea of removing the lawmakers from office if they don’t return to the Texas Capitol by Friday. Abbott, in turn, ordered their arrests. The FBI may also soon get involved after President Donald Trump suggested the bureau “may have to” arrest the lawmakers.
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