Article III, Section 10 of the Texas Constitution ("Quorum; Adjournments from Day-to-Day; Compelling Attendance")

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Adopted February 15, 1876:

Two-thirds of each House shall constitute a quorum to do business, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner and under such penalties as each House may provide.

Editor Comments

The first edition of an often-cited treatise on legislative practice and procedure declared that "[t]he right of a legislative assembly, after it is regularly constituted, to have the attendance of all its members except those who are absent on leave, or in the service of the assembly, and to enforce it, if necessary, is one of its most undoubted and important privileges." Luther Cushing, Elements of the Law and Practice of Legislative Assemblies in the United States of America 101 (1856).

Note that the Republic of Texas constitution (1836) and each of the state's first four constitutions (1845, 1861, 1866, & 1869) contained a section with the same substantive language as this section.

The most well-known quorum break involving the Texas Legislature is probably the one executed in 1979 by the so-called "Killer Bees" over a presidential primary bill. But the journals of the House and Senate document numerous other quorum breaks over the years, some more notable than others. Cf. John Brockman, "Railroads, Radicals, and the Militia Bill: A New Interpretation of the Quorum-Breaking Incident of 1870" The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, 83:2 105 (1979).

Attorney Steve Smith

Recent Decisions

  • In re Abbott, 628 S.W.3d 288, 291 (Tex. 2021) ("The question now before this Court is not whether it is a good idea for the Texas House of Representatives to arrest absent members to compel a quorum. Nor is the question whether the proposed voting legislation giving rise to this dispute is desirable. Those are political questions far outside the scope of the judicial function. The legal question before this Court concerns only whether the Texas Constitution gives the House of Representatives the authority to physically compel the attendance of absent members. We conclude that it does, and we therefore direct the district court to withdraw the TRO.")

Historic Decisions

None.

Library Resources

Online Resources