Wu’s attorneys contend that by leaving the state, he is acting in accordance with the will of his constituents, aiming to block the passage of legislation they oppose, the outlet noted.
Wu “has not died and has not been expelled from the House by the constitutionally prescribed means: a 2/3 vote of the House,” his lawyers said in a brief. “His presence in another state is not a voluntary resignation — as his opposition to this petition makes evident.”
“They have their own independent authority, of course, but it does put them in a tough political position,” Andrew Cates, an Austin-based attorney and expert on Texas ethics law, told The Texas Tribune in an earlier interview. “They don’t want to be in the position of potentially biting the hand that initially fed them.” Continue reading…