TEXAS FLEEBAGGERS UPDATE: What to Know About How Those ‘Fugitive’ Texas Democrats Will Pay for Stay in DC.

As of Friday, the midpoint of the special session, taxpayers in Texas were spending at least $476,630 on a session that isn’t happening because of House Democrats’ exodus, according to an ongoing tally by GOP state Rep. Jared Patterson.

Texas is still losing money from a special session that isn’t happening because Democrats flew to Washington, Patterson explained.

“A session costs $43,000 per day and that equals a teacher’s salary,” the GOP lawmaker told The Daily Signal in a phone interview. “This is a conservative estimate that just looks at a couple of components.”

Those two components are the daily per diem of $221 for every day that a legislator is in session. The other is the increased budget to operate legislative offices during a special session.

“I don’t know anyone who thinks it’s better to choose fundraising in D.C. and lobbying Congress over their constituents in Texas,” Patterson said. “Texans believe you should show up for work.”

A small number of lawmakers reportedly said they would pay back their per diem to the state treasury.

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Patterson said of Democrats’ forgoing their pay. “They haven’t yet, and have to fill out the paperwork to do so.”

KHOU-TV News reported that all the Texas legislators are continuing to receive their per diems.

The Texas House Democratic Caucus did not respond to inquiries from The Daily Signal for this article.

Still though, give what you can:

Earlier: Texas Democrats unravel — “I’m just pissed off” that Biden won’t meet with them.