Attor­ney Gen­er­al Ken Pax­ton and Speak­er Dustin Bur­rows Take Action to Enforce Arrest War­rants for Rogue Democ­rats in California

Attorney General Ken Paxton and Speaker Dustin Burrows have filed a legal complaint in the State of California to enforce arrest warrants issued by the Texas House of Representatives against legislators who fled the State to obstruct the proceedings of the Texas Legislature. 

“Texans are fed up with lawmakers who refuse to do their jobs and instead run away to states like California to exploit radical governors’ broken political systems as a shield,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Gavin Newsom may be comfortable with lawlessness and the protection of corrupt legislators, but Texas will not tolerate elected officials who defy the Constitution for political theater.” 

Speaker Burrows added: “The Texas House stands ready to conduct the work expected of us by our constituents, but until the absent members return, our state will continue to do without critical disaster relief and solutions for a more prepared and resilient Texas. This political game holding up our efforts has gone on long enough. All members will eventually have to come back, but the business before the House is too important to wait on the outside political influences pushing these members to delay the inevitable. Working with Attorney General Paxton, I will continue taking all necessary actions to bring these members back to fulfill their obligations to the legislative process and the people of our state.” 

On August 4, when Democrat members abandoned the State and broke quorum, Texas House Speaker Burrows issued arrest warrants pursuant to his authority under Article III, Section 10 of the Texas Constitution and Rule 5, Section 8, of the Rules of the Texas House of Representatives, which stipulates that upon a call of the house, “[a]ll absentees for whom no sufficient excuse is made may, by order of a majority of those present, be sent for and arrested, wherever they may be found.”  

Attorney General Paxton and Speaker Burrows are now taking that enforcement nationwide, filing first in Illinois and now in California to ensure that no lawmaker can run from the consequences of abandoning their oath. This legal action mirrors a similar petition Attorney General Paxton and Speaker Burrows filed in Illinois earlier this week. It seeks to enforce the quorum warrants in accordance with the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the U.S. Constitution and federal statute.  

To read the complaint, click here.