Republicans lose supermajority in Texas House

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Republicans lost their 102-member supermajority in the Texas House early Wednesday, opening the door for Democrats to slow or block the majority's conservative agenda or demand compromise.

Democrats have won more than 50 seats in the 150-member lower chamber of the Legislature. That means Republicans can no longer suspend the rules to push through legislation over the objections of minority Democrats.

Last year, Republicans had enough lawmakers to form a quorum without any Democrat showing up for work. Now Democrats could shut down state lawmaking if they wished.

Democrats added seats mostly through redistricting, which occurs every 10 years when the new U.S. Census is released. Texas added more than 4.3 million people between 2000 and 2010 and 89 percent of them were minorities.



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