TX Legislature - 2023 Session
Here’s what we achieved during the 2023 Legislative session. Many thanks to all who dedicated their time and energy to protecting our residential neighborhoods.
Zoning Lobbyist Claims Home Owners Have Faulty Judgment When Advocating for Home Ownership. (2023)
TX Legislatures have filed eight bills that represent an unprecedented broad scale attack on residential neighborhoods throughout the state of TX. Here is our press release from March 28, 2023. Here is our press release from May 1, 2023.
TX Neighborhood Coalition leaders from chapters around the state spoke at the Land & Resource Management (LRM) Committee hearings for two bills on March 29, 2023. Here is a link to the afternoon hearing - the hearing for HB2367 starts at 1:51. Here is a link to the hearings on Apr 19 on the Revised HB2665 and our coalitions leaders comments - starts right at the beginning.
Here is the letter from our coalition sent to all members of the TX legislature on Jan 30, 2023: a two-page petition, with hundreds of signatories from multiple cities around the state. The 11 pages of signatures represent many thousands of voters in their respective communities, in particular in neighborhood associations and HOAs.
news
AG Ken Paxton has bought several properties worth millions. He’s yet to publicly disclose them. Attorney General Ken Paxton has yet to disclose numerous properties and vacation rentals that he owns, raising ethics concerns. Among them: This 20-person cabin that was until recently available for $395 a night. (2023) Comment: It would appear the AG and his office, which has been ardent supporters of STR owners, would be ethically bound to recuse themselves from current and future STR court cases.
The Bad Things That Happen When States Tell Cities What to Do. Pre-emption has been on the upswing in recent years, leaving many city leaders frustrated. Richard Schragger, author of City Power, talks about the fallout from this power struggle and how it can hurt urban growth. (2023)
Neighborhoods need to push back on Austin. (2023)
The Libertarian Case for Single-Family Housing. Surveys say that around 80% of Americans prefer or aspire to live in single-family homes, not apartments or condos. Despite this clear preference, city planners and legislators want to force most urban Americans to live in multifamily housing. (2023) Biden’s Ill-Advised Plan To Eliminate Exclusionary Zoning
Bills to ease Texas housing crisis fail quietly. TNC press statement identifies the coalition as “pro-community input” that includes sensible housing policy that takes local conditions and concerns into account. A “one size fits all” solution to local land use should not be dictated by far-away state legislators in Austin. Here’s Dave Schwarte in TNC’s Wednesday press statement: “While we understand the need for additional housing, we firmly believe all residential zoning decisions are best made at the local level by elected representatives who know the needs of their community and answer to local voters.” (2023)
How an Airbnb Party House Near Austin Became a Legislative Priority for a West Texas Politician. Special-interest bills are nothing new in the Texas Lege, but rarely are the interests quite so special as in Representative Brooks Landgraf’s bill targeting the tiny town of Volente. (2023) Breaking: Volente denies controversial short-term rental permit - Four Points News. (2023)
With Two Weeks Left in Session, Texas Legislators Take Aim at Cities With These Bills. (2023)
Texas lawmakers take aim at single-family zoning. Cities will suffer. (2023)
Texas Senate passes bill to eliminate single-family zoning in neighborhoods. (2023)
The Texas Legislature Has a Month to Decide On Bills That Will Limit How Cities, Counties Govern - D Magazine. The 88th Legislature will gavel out at the end of May. In the meantime, there are more than a dozen bills under consideration that will impact how cities and counties can regulate. (2023)
Proposed bill that would allow state to overrule cities on short-term rental rules altered after debate. Many cities throughout North Texas have passed ordinances that say where short-term rentals can be allowed to operate, but a bill discussed Wednesday, as originally proposed, would have undone those ordinances. Now, House Bill 2665 has been revised for the state to study that option instead. (2023)
Want your city to regulate Airbnbs? This legislator is trying to stop you. (Editorial) (2023)
‘Dallas sex dungeons’: North Texans warn against passing short-term rental bills. North Texans told state legislators on Wednesday that a proposed bill would lead to “unregulated party houses.”
Short-term rental critics speak against ‘anti-neighborhood bills on steroids’ at Capitol. Representatives from the Texas Neighborhood Coalition are in opposition to legislation they believe supports short-term rentals.
Survey: Most Texas Voters Concerned about Negative Short-Term Rental Impact. A vast majority of Texas voters – 79% – believe it is important for local officials to actively monitor short-term rental properties to deter criminal activity in residential areas. 72% of Texas voters also agree that the presence of commercial short-term rental properties in residential communities raises concerns about neighborhood safety.