Overview

• Gov. Greg Abbott convened a second special legislative session on Aug. 15 to pursue mid-decade redistricting that could add up to five GOP-leaning U.S. House seats.
• More than 50 Texas House Democrats have stayed in Illinois, Massachusetts and New York to deny a two-thirds quorum and say they will return only after California’s plan is formalized and the current special session ends.
• Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows issued civil arrest warrants, imposed daily fines and withheld paychecks for absent members while Attorney General Ken Paxton filed to expel 13 lawmakers from office.
• Governor Gavin Newsom and California Democrats unveiled a proposal to redraw districts and scheduled a Nov. 4 special election to seek voter approval for maps that could yield five additional Democratic seats.
• Lawmakers in other states, including Missouri, Ohio and Florida, are eyeing similar off-cycle remapping efforts, turning the dispute into a national contest over control of the U.S. House.