Texas state Rep. Nicole Collier spent Monday night on the floor of the Texas House to protest a requirement that Democratic lawmakers accept around-the-clock police escorts after returning from a two-week walkout over Republican redistricting plans. Collier, a seven-term Democrat from Fort Worth, refused to sign the written ‘permission slip’ issued by House Speaker Dustin Burrows that would place her in the custody of a Texas Department of Public Safety officer until the chamber reconvenes on Wednesday. Burrows imposed the escort rule after more than 50 Democrats re-entered the Capitol on 18 August, restoring the quorum they had denied by leaving the state on 3 August. Republican leaders say the measure is intended to guarantee lawmakers’ presence for votes; several Democrats call it an intimidation tactic that wastes public resources. The standoff stems from a Republican proposal to redraw Texas’s 38 congressional districts mid-decade, a map analysts say could add five Republican-leaning seats ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Governor Greg Abbott has called a second special session to advance the plan, while Democrats in California and other states are considering counter-moves intended to offset GOP gains. Civil arrest warrants for absent Texas Democrats remain in effect, but they can be executed only within state borders. Most Democratic members complied with the escort order; Collier’s refusal leaves her confined to the Capitol unless she accepts supervision. "We still have our dignity and the right to resist," she told Reuters from inside the chamber.