Redistricting Bill Passes Texas House
The vote came after a lengthy day on the House floor, that saw Texas Democrats file several amendments to try and change or stall the legislation
Early in the evening on Wednesday, August 20 the Texas House passed House Bill 4, the redistricting bill that would dramatically redraw the state’s congressional districts.
The vote came after a lengthy day on the House floor, that saw Texas Democrats file several amendments to try and change or stall the legislation. The first amendment filed by Rep. Chris Turner would have essentially struck down the entirety of the bill via an enactment clause. Turner said that passing the redistricting bill was a clear violation of the Voting Rights Act. “We are at a turning point for our democracy,” he told his colleagues.
Rep. Donna Howard also introduced an amendment that would delay any redistricting efforts until the state of Texas established an independent redistricting commission. That amendment was tabled.
Texas Democratic House Caucus Chair Rep. Gene Wu attempted to file an amendment that would only allow the congressional maps to be implemented once the Jeffrey Epstein files were released by the Trump administration. That amendment was contested and ruled not “germane” to the redistricting bill.
In a statement after that move, Wu noted the hypocrisy at work. “When Republicans talk about ‘family values,’ remember that their only value is protecting Donald Trump,” said Wu. “We all know Trump is desperately afraid of what’s in the Epstein files, and now we see Texas Republicans are willing to be complicit in the coverup.”
After the amendment process, Texas House Democrats lined up to speak out against the redistricting bill. Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins implored the public to not consider this a game. Gervin-Hawkins had previously gotten into a heated exchange with Republican Rep. Todd Hunter, who authored HB 4. She asked him why the Texas Legislative Black Caucus was not invited to consult on the new maps and Hunter countered that “[you] walked away,” alluding to the quorum break.
As she concluded her remarks, Gervin-Hawkins reiterated that the fight against the maps is not over, either through legal challenges or other states implementing their own changes. “The fight ain’t over, it’s going to continue and it’s going to be won when we have energized America to save democracy.”
After the first vote was taken on HB 4 and received initial passage, Texas Republicans utilized procedural moves to start a new legislative day in order to get a third and final reading.
As Texas has embarked on these new congressional districts under orders from the Trump White House, other blue states are vowing to counteract what is happening in the lone star state. No state has promised more redistricting action than California. Their Governor Gavin Newsom was on a DNC phone call with Rep. Nicole Collier this afternoon until she dramatically had to sign off, saying that she was potentially committing a felony.
For the last two nights, Collier spent the night in the House chamber after she refused to sign a permission slip that would allow her to move about the Capitol with a DPS escort. Several other Texas Democrats joined her after they tore up their own permission slips.
The Texas Senate is expected to take up a redistricting bill in the second special session shortly. And there is still much more on Governor Abbott’s special session agenda, including an anti-trans bathroom bill and further restrictions on abortion medication.
