I testified at a hearing of the Texas House of Representatives Urban Affairs Committee on May 2, speaking against HB 1792 by Rep.…
Tag: Texas Legislature
Update: Texas Senate approves expansion of innovative disaster recovery housing program
Follow housing issues at the Texas Legislature and our full bill tracker here. Update 5/8: SB 1673 by Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr. has passed…
Texas House bills add hurdles to affordable housing in affluent neighborhoods
We cover committee hearings and votes on key bills related to housing at the Texas Legislature, which concludes its 2017 session…
Bills expected to raise tenant late fees advance in Texas House and Senate
As the Texas Legislature swings into high gear, we’ll be covering committee hearings and votes on key bills related to housing.…
Proposed legislation would protect LGBTQ+ Texans from housing discrimination
As the Texas Legislature swings into high gear, we’ll be covering committee hearings and votes on key bills related to housing.…
State legislators consider ban on city linkage fees for affordable housing
As the Texas Legislature swings into high gear, we’ll be covering committee hearings and votes on key bills related to housing.…
Texas House committee debates caps and increases on late fees for tenants, voucher holders
As the Texas Legislature swings into high gear, we’ll be covering committee hearings and votes on key bills related to housing.…
Looking for a place to live without “bullets flying through the property”
A University of Texas law professor and community leaders recently spoke with tenants at an apartment complex in Sunnyside, a historically…
Suit filed to overturn Texas prohibition on source of income protection for voucher holders
In Texas, there is a law formally protecting landlord discrimination against people with housing vouchers, most of whom are African-American. A lawsuit filed Thursday in…
Houston area representative, pledging to ‘Stop Low-Income Government Housing,’ files bill
Elected on a pledge to “Stop Low-Income Government Housing” (see campaign ad above), Real Estate Broker and State Representative Valoree…
Texas Senate committee report addresses key fair housing issues
The Intergovernmental Relations Committee (IGR) is one of the most influential in the Texas Senate, dealing with the administration of…
Listen: Previewing housing issues at the Texas Legislature
The Texas Legislature kicked off its 2017 session on January 10, with plenty of housing-related bills already filed, proposed or…
TDHCA details consequences of potential state budget cuts
The Texas Legislature opens next month under specific instructions to use a 4 percent reduction in general revenue as the starting point in…
Join the Housing Working Group for the 2017 Texas Legislative Session
Each legislative session, Texas Housers hosts a bi-weekly Housing Working Group for advocates, providers, non-profit staff and others engaged in housing issues at…
How state legislators can improve fair housing compliance in Texas
Texas Housers fair housing planner Charlie Duncan and University of Texas professor Heather Way were among the speakers at a…
RAPIDO disaster recovery housing model to be exhibited at Smithsonian
RAPIDO, the innovative disaster recovery housing program recognized by the MacArthur Foundation, Public Radio International, SXSW and many others, has received another impressive honor. The…
Our recommendations to Texas Senate committee considering disaster recovery improvements
On February 3, the Texas Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Relations (IGR) held a public hearing in Brownsville on one of their…
Eight years after hurricanes, Texas disaster recovery efforts are $1 billion behind
The Texas Senate Intergovernmental Relations Committee (IGR) has begun to investigate the failures of the state’s disaster recovery process, finding that…
Video: Informing Texas senators about how to fix disaster recovery
In early December, the Texas Senate Committee of Intergovernmental Relations (IGR) held a public hearing and overview of the interim…
Colonia organizations win groundbreaking street lighting victory in Hidalgo County
On November 10, Hidalgo County Commissioners unanimously approved a plan to begin bringing street lights into the colonias. Our partners at…
Texas Senate committee to study disaster preparedness, ramifications of Supreme Court fair housing case
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has issued his third installment of interim charges for state senate committees, the in-depth studies…
2015 Texas Housing Tax Credit Report: How support points limit housing options for low income families
This week Texas Housers will release the 2015 Texas Housing Tax Credit report, an analysis of the state’s competitive process to…
Anti-source of income protection legislation signed into law
On Friday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 267, officially banning any local ordinances that protect people with housing vouchers…
An open letter to Governor Abbott: Veto SB 267 and protect fair housing in Texas
After the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 267, which outlaws local ordinances prohibiting discrimination against people who receive federal housing assistance,…
Texas source of income protection ban headed to governor’s desk
On Thursday afternoon, the Texas Senate voted 19-12 to concur with the House of Representatives’ version of SB 267, the…
Update: Disaster recovery legislation still has chance to pass in wake of floods
Update 5/28: Last night, Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr. of Brownsville, the original sponsor of the Disaster Recovery Housing legislation, attached…
Update: Texas House approves statewide source of income protection ban
Update 5/23: The House voted 93-44, with one representative voting ‘present’ vote and 12 absent, to pass SB 267 on third reading…
Heather Way: The myth about the inclusionary zoning ban in Texas
This piece by Heather Way is reprinted with her permission. Way is a clinical professor of law and directs the Entrepreneurship and Community…
Rio Grande Valley families bring experiences with Disaster Recovery Housing Program to Legislature
A proposal to expand the Disaster Recovery Housing Program is currently before the Texas Legislature, and the bill, SB 1376…
Update: Anti-source of income protection bill approved by Texas House committee
Update 4/30: The House Urban Affairs Committee reconsidered the vote on HB 2909 on April 29, reporting favorably the committee substitute…