Governor urges senators to return to Capitol

AUSTIN -- Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday called on Senate Democrats to end their quorum-busting walkout and return to the Capitol, his strongest plea to the absent lawmakers since they fled Texas amid a heated redistricting dispute.

"Texans elected you to cast your vote in Austin, so come on back and go to work," Perry said.

The 11 Democrats bolted for New Mexico on Monday to protest a Republican plan to redraw Texas' congressional districts. The Democrats hold a 17-15 advantage, but Republicans say that does not reflect the state's increasingly Republican voting patterns.

Perry has been relatively quiet on the issue. On Monday he issued a written statement and provided a video announcement to selected television stations, but did not mention congressional redistricting -- the top item for a special session that started this week. He said only that the absent senators were preventing the legislature from continuing work on certain appropriations bills.

Perry did not mention congressional redistricting in his prepared remarks Thursday at the Texas Hospital Association headquarters, but when questioned by reporters, he said redistricting is important and will be addressed by the Legislature.

When asked why not drop redistricting from the agenda this session so that the Democrats would come back and address other issues such as spending and health care, Perry said, "That's like negotiating for hostages."

The absent Democrats have aimed much of their criticism at Perry, saying the governor is pushing redistricting on behalf of national Republican leaders.

"Our constituents know where we stand. They know where the governor has failed to lead," said Sen. Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio, chairwoman of the Senate Democratic Caucus.

As long as the Senate Democrats stay away, business in the chamber stops. It takes two-thirds of the Senate's 31 members to form a quorum and allow the chamber to take up business. Senate rules also require that two-thirds of the chamber support a bill before it can be taken up for debate.

Democrats were able to block a vote on redistricting during the first special session because of the two-thirds rule. In the second special session, Republican Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst was arranging the order of bills so that only a majority of senators could vote to debate a bill on the Senate floor. That move prompted the walkout.