SMU political science professor Matthew Wilson explains the rarely enforced rules being applied during this second special session of the legislature.

A Fort Worth lawmaker’s sit-in on the Texas House floor picked up steam late Tuesday as fellow Democrats flocked to her side for the second night of her round-the-clock vigil after she refused to allow a state trooper to shadow her until the chamber could vote on a new congressional map.

Sam Parker wears an outfit from "The Handmaid's Tale" as she protests the confinement of Rep. Nicole Collier, D-Fort Worth, outside the House Chamber at the Texas Capitol in Austin, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman via AP)