In re Turner
| Decision Date | 09 August 2021 |
| Docket Number | No. 21-0538,21-0538 |
| Citation | 627 S.W.3d 654 |
| Court | Texas Supreme Court |
| Parties | IN RE Chris TURNER, in His Capacity as a Member of the Texas House of Representatives and His Capacity as Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, et al., Relators |
Kevin Vickers, Sean Lev, Chad Wilson Dunn, K. Scott Brazil, for Relators Johnson, Jarvis, Davis, Yvonne, Reynolds, Ron, Lucio, III, Eddie, Sherman, Senior, Carl, Minjarez, Ina., Howard, Donna.
Andrea M. Mehta, Waco, Jessica Anne Morton, John Lewis III, James R. Dunnam, Skye Perryman, for Relators Texas AFL-CIO, Bufkin, Kimberly Paige, Piotrzkowski, Rachel, Castillo, Michelle.
K. Scott Brazil, Kevin Vickers, Chad Wilson Dunn, for Relators Collier, Nicole, González, Jessica, Anchía, Rafael, Longoria, Oscar, Vo, Hubert, Walle, Armando, Crockett, Jasmine, Morales, Christina, Perez, Mary Ann, Israel, Celia, Turner, John, Raymond, Richard, Thompson, Senfronia, Talarico, James, Martinez Fischer, Trey, Cole, Sheryl, Morales, Eddie, Fierro, Art, Gervin-Hawkins, Barbara, Rosenthal, Jon, Muñoz, Junior, Sergio, Hernandez, Ana, Johnson, Julie, Ordaz Perez, Claudia, King, Tracy, Legislative Study Group, Allen, Alma, Deshotel, Joe, Coleman, Garnet, González, Mary, House Democratic Caucus, Zwiener, Erin, Guillen, Ryan, Guerra, Bobby, Goodwin, Vikki, Canales, Terry, Dutton, Junior, Harold, Bowers, Rhetta, Dominguez, Alex, Johnson, Ann, Meza, Terry, Martinez, Armando, Cortez, Philip, Neave, Victoria, Bucy, John, Mexican American Legislative Caucus, Wu, Gene, Chris Turner, In His Capacity As A Member Of The Texas House Democratic Caucus, Beckley, Michelle, Texas Legislative Black Caucus, Rose, Toni, Bernal, Diego, Campos, Elizabeth, Ramos, Ana-Maria, Lopez, Ray, Pacheco, Leo, Thierry, Shawn, Ortega, Evelina, Hinojosa, Gina, Romero, Junior, Ramon, Morales Shaw, Penny, Moody, Joe.
K. Scott Brazil, John Lewis III, Kevin Vickers, Chad Wilson Dunn, for Relator Rodriguez, Eddie.
James R. Dunnam, Andrea M. Mehta, Jessica Anne Morton, Skye Perryman, for Relators Rodriguez, Donovon J.
Harmony R. Gbe, Blayne Thompson, Houston, Jessica L. Ellsworth, for Amici Curiae Eckhardt, Sarah, Alvarado, Carol, Aycock, Jimmie Don, Bruff, Harold H., Smith, Todd, Johnson, Nathan, Ratliff, Bennett, Marziani, Mimi, Gutierrez, Roland, Menendez, Jose, Miles, Borris L., Hinojosa, Juan "Chuy", Lucio, Junior, Eddie, Larson, Lyle, Ratliff, William, Ackerman, Bruce, Laney, James Earl, Powell, Beverly, Blanco, Cesar, Straus, III, Joseph Richard, West, Royce, Davis, Sarah, Zaffirini, Judith, Whitmire, John, Alcala, Elsa R.
Noor Taj, Max Renea Hicks, Allison J. Riggs, for Amicus Curiae The League of Women Voters of Texas.
Judd E. Stone II, for Respondents Jose A. Esparza, In his official capacity as Deputy Secretary of State and Acting Secretary of State of the State of Texas, Glenn Hegar, in his official capacity as Comptroller of Public Accounts of the State of Texas, Gregory S. Davidson, in his official capacity as Executive Clerk to the Governor.
Blayne Thompson, Houston, for Amici Curiae Law Professors and Current and Former Members of the Texas House of Representatives, Sent and Judiciary, Former Speakers of the Texas House of Representatives.
The Texas Constitution gives the Governor a line-item veto on appropriation bills enacted by the Legislature. "If any bill presented to the Governor contains several items of appropriation he may object to one or more of such items...." TEX. CONST. art. IV, § 14. If the bill is not "presented to the Governor ten days (Sundays excepted) prior to [the Legislature's] adjournment," the Governor has twenty days from adjournment to object to one or more items, and if he does so, "such item or items shall not take effect." Id.
On May 30, 2021, the day before the 87th Legislature adjourned, Democratic members of the House of Representatives left the chamber, thereby breaking quorum and preventing passage of pending legislation that they opposed. See H.J. of Tex., 87th Leg., R.S. 5467 (2021). Several days later, when the general appropriations bill for the next biennium (beginning September 1, 2021) was presented to Governor Greg Abbott, he vetoed the Legislature's appropriation for its own operations, explaining that "[f]unding should not be provided for those who quit their jobs early." Tex. Gov. Proclamation No. 41-3844, 87th Leg., R.S., ch. 1053, 2021 Tex. Gen. Laws ____ (available at 46 Tex. Reg. 3984). In this original mandamus proceeding, the House Democratic Caucus and all but one of the 67 Democratic House members1 argue that the Governor's veto threatens the Legislature's ability to operate and therefore violates the constitutional separation of powers.
The Legislature convenes in regular session in odd-numbered years for 140 days, commencing on the second Tuesday in January.2 The 87th Legislature convened in regular session on January 12, 2021. Governor Abbott in his State of the State Address on February 1 identified legislation on "election integrity" as one of five emergency items. See S.J. of Tex., 87th Leg., R.S. 45 (2021).3 That legislation, Senate Bill 7, was introduced on March 11. Id. at 212. One version passed the Senate on April 1, id. at 586, and another passed the House on May 7. H.J., 87th Leg., R.S. at 2510 -12. The Conference Committee report was completed on May 29 and adopted by the Senate the same day. S.J., 87th Leg., R.S. at 2913-14. Under its rules, the House had until midnight the next day to adopt the Conference Committee report. Tex. H.R. Rule 8, § 13(f), 87th Leg., R.S., H.J. of Tex. 49, 126 (2021). Shortly before 11:00 p.m., Democratic House members began leaving the chamber to deprive the body of a quorum to do business. See H.J., 87th Leg., R.S. at 5466 -67. The House has 150 members, and two-thirds, or 100, constitute a quorum. TEX. CONST. art. III, § 10. House members included 83 Republicans and 67 Democrats,4 so the departure of most Democratic members would have the effect of breaking quorum. The House recessed a few minutes later. H.J., 87th Leg., R.S. at 5467 -68. The regular session adjourned sine die on May 31. Id. at 5506.
After adjournment, the Legislature sent the Governor the General Appropriation Act, enacted on May 27, for the 2022-2023 fiscal-year biennium. Id. at 4177. On June 18, Governor Abbott issued a proclamation objecting to Article X of the Act, which contained appropriations for the operation of the Legislature. Tex. Gov. Proclamation No. 41-3844, 87th Leg., R.S., ch. 1053, 2021 Tex. Gen. Laws ____ (available at 46 Tex. Reg. 3984).5 The Governor included the following statement of his objections to Article X:
Texans don't run from a legislative fight, and they don't walk away from unfinished business. Funding should not be provided for those who quit their job early, leaving their state with unfinished business and exposing taxpayers to higher costs for an additional legislative session. I therefore object to and disapprove of these appropriations.
The Governor may call a special session of the Legislature lasting no longer than 30 days and limited to considering subjects designated in the call.6 On June 22, Governor Abbott announced that he would call a special session of the Legislature to convene on July 8.7 He did not announce at the time the subjects to be considered.
On June 25, Relators filed their petition for writ of mandamus in this Court. They argued that Governor Abbott's veto was an "[a]ttempt to [a]bolish the Legislature," Mandamus Pet. 21, by depriving it of the funding necessary for its staff and operations8 in violation of the constitutional principle of separation of powers.9 Relators acknowledged that Governor Abbott had announced that he would call a special session and that he could designate an appropriation for the Legislature as a subject to be considered. But, they contended, Governor Abbott might not add the subject to the call, or he might veto a re-enactment of Article X funding unless the Legislature enacted voting legislation and other legislation that he sought. Mandamus Pet. 23. "It is no answer," they argued, Id. at 31 n.14.
Relators asked that the respondents named in their petition—the Executive Clerk to the Governor, the Acting Secretary of State, and the Comptroller—be ordered "to give Article X full effect and to perform their duties consistent with that provision." Id. at 37. In a response filed on July 5, Respondents argued that the Executive Clerk and Acting Secretary of State have no authority to enforce appropriations, and that while the Comptroller is in charge of disbursing appropriated funds, the veto of Article X does not impact legislative funding until September 1, when the General Appropriations Act takes effect.10 Thus, Respondents contended, Relators’ claims are not ripe, and, relatedly, Relators have suffered no concrete injury sufficient for standing.
By proclamation issued on July 7, the Governor formally called the special session and designated 11 subjects for the Legislature's consideration, including "[l]egislation strengthening the integrity of elections in Texas" and "[l]egislation providing appropriations to the Legislature and legislative agencies in Article X of the General Appropriations Act." Tex. Gov. Proclamation No. 41-3848, 87th Leg., R.S., 2021 Tex. Gen. Laws ____ (available at 46 Tex. Reg. 4238). The Legislature convened on July 8, but three days later Democratic House members again broke quorum, this time by leaving the state for the District of Columbia. A bill replacing Article X passed out of House committee on July 9 but could not be considered on the House floor. See H.J. of Tex., 87th Leg., 1st C.S. 32 (2021)...
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