Austin – The Legislative Commission in Texas must have the so -called “quorum” in order to do commercial works that propose and discuss and vote bills. But what does that mean, and why “break it”?
The legal quorum is “the minimum number of members of the association or society that must be present in any of its meetings to make the measures of this meeting valid,” according to Oxford English dictionary – mainly, the number of legislators should be present to take bills, including voting. For Texas, this number of people is defined in the state constitution and the rules of each legislative session.
The house should have two thirds of its members, or 100 people, present. The Senate also needs two -thirds, or 21 members.
Home rules Say if the members do not appear, they are subject to fines of $ 500 per day, they are absent, or pay the costs incurred by the sergeant in weapons, reprimand, blame or expulsion.
Senate rules Say, “Those who are not made enough excuse, by order of the majority of those present, can be sent and arrested wherever they can be found and attended in securing and preserving them by the sergeant in weapons or officers appointed by the sergeant for this purpose.
Why break the quorum?
Fracture of the quorum stops the ability of the legislature to carry out its normal work, including passing the bills. While some jobs do not require a quorum, others require this.
Republicans control the House of Representatives and the Senate in Texas. There are 19 Republicans and 11 Democrats in the Senate, and there are 88 Republicans and 62 Democrats in the House of Representatives. Republicans have enough votes to pass legislation without democrats. Breaking the legal quorum may play to stop approve the legislation because there must be a specific amount of legislators in order to hold a vote at all.