Meanwhile, Back At The State House

Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan signed a civil arrest warrant for Democratic state Rep. Philip Cortez, who rejoined his colleagues in Washington. D.C.

It is unlikely to have an impact since Texas law enforcement lacks jurisdiction outside the state. https://t.co/4V7KVe87Uz

— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) July 26, 2021

Dan Patrick said:

"Well Bill, they have to come home eventually. And when they come home I believe the House will put out an order for their arrest if they don't return to the [Texas] Capitol," Patrick said. "Because once they hit the ground in Texas, they can be arrested and brought back to the Capitol. And some time they're going to have to return, whenever it is. And whenever it is, we're going to pass this bill out of the House."

And Greg Abbott said:

"As soon as they come back to the state of Texas, they will be arrested," Abbott said. "They will be cabined inside the Texas Capitol until they get their job done." 

Except that didn't happen when Philip Cortez returned to the state.  Speaker Phelan did finally issue a warrant for his arrest; but he's already back in D.C.  Besides, can the Texas Rangers or any other law enforcement in Texas actually execute such a warrant as they would a criminal arrest warrant?

No.

The sergeant-at-arms issues civil warrants, not criminal — meaning that errant lawmakers aren't charged with a crime for their nonattendance, and thus wouldn't be taken to jail.

So what if members, upon returning to Texas, locks themselves away at home and absolutely refuse transportation to the Capitol? What level of force could officers use to make an arrest and return them to the House floor? Would they be placed in handcuffs?

Neither Phelan's office nor the House sergeant-at-arms, Michael Black, have responded to questions about the mechanics of such an arrest.

But a source within the Texas Department of Public Safety said that law enforcement is legally unable to compel lawmakers in violation of House rules to do anything or go anywhere. 

Longtime political consultant and lobbyist Bill Miller compared the situation to students skipping school.

"It's like being a truant at school," Miller said. "You're supposed to be in the classroom, but you're not. Well, I have the power to send someone to find you and bring you back to the classroom. Let's assume you don't want to return to the classroom. What does that truant officer have to do? What can they do? What are they willing to do to bring them back? That's what you have — you have truancy here in the purest sense of the word.

"These officials don't want to be back in the chamber, and if you're going to bring them back, you're probably going to have to resort to something that you're not going to be happy about," Miller said.

Never in Texas history have state police successfully captured quorum-breaking lawmakers. But there have been close calls. 

During the legislative session of 1979, an alliance of liberal senators known as the Killer Bees broke quorum for several days and evaded police by bunkering in a garage in Austin. One state senator, Gene Jones, left the garage to see his granddaughter in Houston, prompting Texas Rangers to search for him. 

"Photo in hand, they knocked on his door. A man who looked a lot like the picture opened the door. The Ranger asked him if he was Jones. He said, yes. They arrested him and took him to Austin. He was Jones all right, but not Gene Jones. They had arrested Gene’s brother, Clayton," recalled then-Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby. "When the knock came at the door, the senator had jumped over the back fence and stayed lost for another day." 

Gene probably could have just stayed in the house and waited for the Rangers to drive off with his brother.  They didn't exactly have the authority to enter the house on demand, and search every room for a criminal suspect.

But the funny part, to me, is that for all the bluster from Abbott and Patrick, his yap-yap dog (who still wants Abbott to put the quorum requirement of the state constitution on the next special session agenda so he can change it.  Such a bill would never get through the House, and this is evidence of that.), the House is not nearly as crazy as the bedbugs Patrick and Abbott are.  Phelan got the House to vote to return the escaped members.  He never told the sergeant-at-arms to execute an arrest warrant, until now.  And that's only for one member.

I wonder how many have left D.C. and just gone quietly back home?  They might as well; nobody's looking for them.

I quietly hope that pisses off Patrick and Abbott no end.  We've already had a speaker censured by the Texas GOP for not giving them the bathroom bill they wanted.  I wonder if they'll censure Phelan, too.