In 1979, Texas Democratic State Senators fled the Capitol to break a quorum to block an election bill from getting voted on.
AUSTIN, Texas — The current quorum break by Texas Democrats at the State Capitol is the fourth time in the past 50 years that lawmakers have broken quorum to protest pending legislation: 1979, 2003 and 2021.
One the most memorable times Democrats fled happened when the so-called “Killer Bees” took flight in May 1979.
Twelve state senators – all Democrats – made a triumphant return to the Texas Capitol after successfully hiding out for four days to block what they called unfair legislation from being voted on.
The Republican bill they were blocking was aimed at changing how the presidential primaries worked in Texas, they claimed, to favor former Texas Gov. John Connally in his effort to win the 1980 Republican presidential nomination.
The name “Killer Bees” was coined by Texas Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby who said he called them that because “you never know when they would strike.”
The name struck the fancy of the public: An occasional killer bee costume showed up around the Capitol, and some very popular T-shirts with a Killer Bee logo were popular at the time.
The Killer Bees didn’t have to go far to hide out. They holed up in a West Austin apartment. One of the Killer Bees was a young state senator from Austin, now U.S. Congressman Lloyd Doggett.
“Being together with other members of the Texas Senate in a small garage converted to an apartment for a number of days in West Austin was no joy ride,” Doggett recalled.
Their quorum break of 1979 was successful at blocking the bill they were protesting from even getting a vote: a victory for the killer bees.