Texas Speaker pulls constitutional amendments after reported Democratic threat

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Leading up to the anticipated Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) vote last Wednesday, the Texas Tribune said more than 50 House Democrats threatened to vote against every proposed constitutional amendment if Republicans didn't help them put the ESA legislation to a public vote.

The vote to pass passed on party lines. On the Republican side, only former Speaker Dade Phelan, R – Beaumont, and Gary VanDeaver, R – New Boston, voted against the bill.

On Tuesday, the House was scheduled to discuss -- and likely vote on -- House Joint Resolution 31. The relatively non-controversial constitutional amendment -- which unanimously passed the House Ways & Means Committee -- would allow the legislature to better define property tax exemptions for farmers. Instead of being brought for debate, Speaker Dustin Burrows postponed the vote.

'We will use the tools we have'

Constitutional amendments require a two-thirds vote from both chambers of the Texas legislature before heading to the voters, meaning 51 Democratic House members can kill one without any Republican dissenting.

"Democratic members of the Texas House may be in the minority, but we will use the tools we have to protect the independence of the House and ensure the voices of the millions of Texans we represent are heard and respected in this chamber," a representative with the House Democratic Caucus said in a statement.

However, just because the ESA vote passed without a public referendum, doesn't mean there isn't room for compromise according to a representative with the House Democratic Caucus. They say they're working with Burrows to find areas of cooperation; including bringing more Democratic bills to the House floor.

To get the gavel, Burrows needed support from 49 Democrats and 36 Republicans to defeat Rep. David Cook, R - Mansfield, who was supported by the Texas Republican Party. He faced his first authority challenge two weeks ago, as a motion to remove him from the speaker's chair was overwhelmingly voted down. Now, it appears he faces a challenge from members of the party who helped put him at the dais.

High-priority bills threatened

The House Democrats are open to a compromise where they would vote for constitutional amendments. But if no such deal is made, they could kill plenty of high-profile bills.

Among them are a pair of high-profile bail reform bills which Gov. Greg Abbott declared an emergency item this session. Senate Joint Resolution 1 would require the denial of bail for undocumented residents charged with a felony, and Senate Joint Resolution 5 would allow the denial of bail for defendants accused of first-degree felony sexual offenses -- defendants accused of violent offenses or defendants accused of continuous human trafficking.

While both bills passed with bipartisan support, it's unclear if they had enough Democratic votes in the Texas House -- potential protests set aside.

In response to the initial reporting by the Tribune, Abbott's press secretary Andrew Mahaleris posted on X, "Texas Democrats are threatening to block property tax relief while allowing violent murderers on the street with low bail. All to serve their teachers union overlords who think they own your children."

We've reached out to the offices of Burrows and Abbott and are awaiting comment. We will update this if statements are received.