AUSTIN, Texas – Texas House Democrats who broke quorum in August 2025 while attempting to stop a Republican-led redistricting effort received letters letting them know they would face fines.

Fines and financial breakdown

What we know:

In the letter addressed to Minority Leader of the Texas House of Representatives, Rep. Gene Wu, Texas House of Representatives Committee’s House Administration Chair, Rep. Charlie Geren, confirmed the House of Representatives would fine Representatives $9,354.25 each for their two-week quorum break.

The fines include a $500 per day penalty over the 14-day quorum break, totaling $7,000 per member. House Democrats also face an additional $2,354.25 fine. Rep. Geren says that penalty pays for the $124,940.08 spent attempting to compel members’ attendance.

Redistricting and the quorum break

The backstory:

Democrats left the state in an attempt to block the redrawn Texas congressional maps that were eventually passed on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2026, in an 88-52 vote.

Fines are being assessed under rules enacted in 2023, after the Texas House Democrats members broke quorum after leaving the state for 38 days to block GOP voting restrictions in 2021. Those rules prohibit members from using campaign funds or fundraising to pay the fines, forcing them to pay out-of-pocket.

Democratic response

What they’re saying:

In a news release by the Texas House Democrats on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, Chair Rep. Gene Wu referred to the redistricting map and once again explained the reasoning for breaking quorum in August 2025.

AUSTIN, TEXAS – AUGUST 18: Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, holds his permission slip, granting him permission to leave the House Chamber, after the session ended for the day at the Capitol in Austin, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025. (Jay Janner/Austin American-States

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“We broke quorum because Governor Abbott held flood victims’ hostage for his intentionally racist map designed to steal the voices of millions of Black and Latino Texans,” said Texas House of Representatives Minority Leader Rep. Gene Wu. 

“Faced with Republican inaction on flooding and voting rights, we took action, and every day we were gone, we did exactly what our constituents wanted us to do: fight for them. Breaking quorum is a constitutional right, and we will use every tool available to challenge these fines.”

Good morning, Texas. Here’s what you need to know today. 

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While all eyes are on the weekend chance for wintry precipitation, most of the week will be mild. A few rain showers may greet us Wednesday morning for Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth, but amounts will be light. An arctic cold front will plunge into Texas on Friday. Right now, we know cold temperatures are likely. Confidence of impacts and amounts of wintry precipitation across Texas continue to increase for the weekend, but we are still too far out to be specific. Stay tuned to the forecast as things can and will change. 

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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a standalone legal opinion on Monday—Martin Luther King Jr. Day—about the unconstitutionality of diversity, equity and inclusion policies and programs in the state of Texas. 

The 74-page opinion declares over 100 state laws to be unconstitutional and notes that both public institutions and private companies engaging in DEI practices are exposing themselves to legal challenges.

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A woman walks across the snow covered street near the Texas state capitol Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021, in Austin, Texas. Temperatures dropped into the single digits as snow shut down air travel and grocery stores. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

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Deep in the Heart of Texas 

Timothy, a 7-year-old hippopotamus, chases an ice block at the San Antonio Zoo, Friday, July 8, 2022, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

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San Antonio Zoo brings back Valentine’s fundraiser that names a cockroach after your ex

A viral fundraiser is showing love to the San Antonio Zoo while exacting revenge on exes of Valentine’s Day past.

The zoo’s annual Cry Me a Cockroach initiative is “back and bigger than ever,” according to its website. With a donation, people ages 18 and older can symbolically name a cockroach after an ex-lover.

The climate at this year’s Martin Luther King Jr. march and rally was notably different. Many spoke out against the current Trump administration and drew throughlines between the resistance of the Civil Rights Movement and today’s pushback on recent efforts at the federal and state levels to diminish the impact of minorities in the U.S.

State Rep. Sheryl Cole, an Austin Democrat, said the current political climate is challenging, but King warned justice would not come easily.

“Let this be a day more than remembrance,” she said. “Let it be a renewal. Let it be a renewal of courage, a renewal of solidarity, a renewal of hope rooted in action. The struggle continues but so does the movement.”

Austinite Rick Hoff said for him, honoring King was about keeping his legacy alive despite efforts at the federal level to minimize its significance.

In a recent change, the Trump administration removed Martin Luther King Jr. Day from its list of free entry days into national parks and added President Trump’s birthday.

“I feel like it is really important to keep respecting what this man did for this country,” Hoff said. “And, unfortunately, with some of the administration we have right now, I get a little worried that maybe they are trying to ease it out, and I don’t like that at all. I think we should keep it completely.”

During his life, Dr. King led nonviolent movements, including efforts to integrate bus lines in Montgomery, Alabama, and the March on Washington where he delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.

Lorianne Willett

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KUT News

Shanice Brim marched with the Democratic Socialists of America. The group was among the thousands who marched Monday from the Texas Capitol to Huston-Tillotson University. She said honoring King’s legacy is more important now than ever.

“There is a lot of discord in the country right now,” Brim said. “It feels like those of us who believe in justice are getting hit on all sides whether it’s around abortion rights, immigration, or our endless need to fund wars instead of things we need here in the country like harm reduction and housing services.”

Those in attendance were also encouraged to bring canned goods to support the Central Texas Food Bank — a nod to King’s work advocating for the poor and the hungry.

This was the first march on MLK Day since 2024. The last two events were canceled because of winter weather.