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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JohnM who wrote (7483)	9/10/2003 12:15:34 PM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793740

Texas Senate Democrats Agree to Return By NATALIE GOTT Associated Press Writer AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Democrat and Republican senators were once again on a collision course following the governor's call for another legislative session and the collapse of the Republican Gov. Rick Perry on Tuesday called for a third special session to redraw Texas' congressional districts, an issue thwarted on two previous attempts by Senate Democrats who fled the state. The 10 current senators who remain in their New Mexico exile said they would return to Texas but warned they were not ending their protest of GOP efforts to increase Republican representation in the U.S. House. "We will continue to fight on any front to protect Texans. And we will win again," the Democrats said in a statement Tuesday. The next session begins Monday and both sides must wait to see if there is a quorum in the Senate. Democrats have a 17-15 majority in the current Texas congressional delegation in Washington. The GOP is pushing plans that would give Republicans as many as 21 seats. Eleven Democrats slipped across state lines July 28 and stayed away for about six weeks to block a redistricting vote. One of the 11, Sen. John Whitmire, defected last week and said he would attend another special session if the governor called one. That left the 10 remaining Democrats without the numbers to block a quorum. Twenty-one of the Senate's 31 members must be present for business to be conducted. The Democrats planned to fly to Laredo on Wednesday for a court hearing on Thursday. The hearing is on the federal lawsuit they filed that alleges Republican redistricting plans trample minority rights in violation of the Voting Rights Act and that their political free speech was violated. "If the Senate achieves a quorum, we will return to the Senate floor to defend our constituents, rural Texans, and more than 1.4 million minorities in Texas who face complete disenfranchisement if Whitmire and the Republicans get their way," the Democrats' statement said. Whitmire could not be reached for comment Tuesday, but a spokeswoman said he disregarded their comments. "They are my friends and they are under a lot of stress," Whitmire said through the spokeswoman. Perry spokeswoman Kathy Walt said the governor would welcome the Democrats back and believes there are a number of important issues that need to be addressed. In their boycott, the Democrats fled across the state line so Texas law officers or the Senate sergeant-at-arms could not arrest them and force them back to the Senate chamber during the session, which ended Aug. 26. After their court hearing, the Democrats will return to their home districts. "We're delighted that we will be with our families again and in Texas again, but we are not happy with the circumstances," said Democratic Sen. Judith Zaffirini. In all, GOP efforts to address redistricting have failed three times this year - during the Legislature's spring regular session and during two summer special sessions. Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved.