Texas Senate unanimously approves tax cuts for homeowners
The marquee proposal would increase the amount of a home’s value exemption from school taxes to $140,000 from $100,000. The legislation must win approval from the House next. Full Story
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![Housing development in Celina on Nov. 13, 2024.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott wants to set a high bar for local tax increases
Local officials, school advocates and tax policy experts said such a proposal could have dire impacts on basic services. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks about the recent 88th Legislative Session to an audience at the Texas Public Policy Foundation offices in Austin, on June 2, 2023. Abbott recounted policy victories in regards to fentanyl and the border crisis, as well as limiting gender-affirming care and banning DEI practices in higher education. Abbott ended the event by promising to call a special session for school choice, after the current special session for property tax resolves.]()
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Former Texas lawmaker Scott Turner confirmed to lead HUD
Turner served in the Texas House from 2013-2017. Full Story
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![Trump Nominee for Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Eric Scott Turner testifies at a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hearing in the Dirksen Senate office building in Washington, DC on Thursday, January 16, 2025. (Photo by Annabelle Gordon/Sipa USA)]()
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Texas Republicans want more property tax cuts. Here’s how they may do it.
Gov. Greg Abbott said cutting taxes is a top priority, however, state lawmakers don’t have as much money to plug into tax cuts as they did two years ago. Full Story
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![A residential neighborhood seen Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Midland.]()
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Join us in Houston March 5 for a symposium on building a strong future for Texas’ cities
We’ll celebrate what makes our cities special and discuss the urgent policy action needed for their growth and success. Full Story
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Feds refer Texas’ Harvey funding discrimination case to Justice Department
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development confirmed its finding that Texas unfairly favored white residents in rural areas when it distributed $1 billion in Harvey aid in 2021. Full Story
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![Texas Land commissioner George P. Bush speaks to Texas House of Representatives Committee on Urban Affairs hearing on Harvey in Houston Monday, October 2, 2017.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Split senate panel approves Scott Turner to lead HUD
Picked to lead the housing agency under Trump, the former Texas House member tells senators there is a housing crisis. Democrats say they want to act only after a background check. Full Story
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![Former Texas state Rep. Scott Turner, nominated to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the second Trump Administration, speaks during a discussion regarding school choice at the America First Policy Institute in Washington on January 28, 2022.]()
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Texas has a housing affordability crisis. Here’s how state lawmakers may tackle it in 2025.
A likely fight over how much power to take away from local governments may dominate the debate. Full Story
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![The Celina water tower among newer housing developments in Celina on November 13, 2024.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Harris County program decreases automatic evictions when tenants don’t come to court
After the court eviction diversion initiative started, default evictions favoring landlords dropped 44%. Full Story
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![Tecorya Davis trains on a double end bag at Savannah Boxing Gym, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, in Houston. (Antranik Tavitian/Houston Landing)]()
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Here are the biggest stories from our data visuals team in 2024
The Tribune’s data journalists helped visualize everything from voter participation and extreme weather to gaps in the state’s border wall. Here are some of the highlights. Full Story
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![Share art for the zoning regulations story for the affordable housing series.]()
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Austin Mayor Kirk Watson: Police are not assisting Trump’s operation targeting immigrants
The former state senator spoke with the Texas Tribune’s editor-in-chief about his relationship with state lawmakers and the city’s recent efforts to curb housing costs. Full Story
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San Antonio housing officials plan for new HUD leadership
Former state Rep. Scott Turner’s nomination to lead the agency may offer a glimpse of what could be cut from San Antonio’s housing ecosystem. Full Story
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![state Rep. Scott Turner, R-Frisco, listens to a speech nominating him as House speaker in January 2015.]()
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Trump nominates former Texas lawmaker Scott Turner to lead Housing and Urban Development
Turner served in the Texas House for four years and was also executive director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council in the first Trump administration. Full Story
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![State Rep. Scott Turner, R-Frisco, gives a personal speech on the House floor in Austin in January 2015 after losing the speaker's race to Joe Straus, R-San Antonio.]()
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Texas’ housing shortage is getting worse, report says
Texas builds more homes than other states but hundreds of thousands more are still needed, the report said, contributing to higher housing costs. Full Story
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![New home construction in north Longview's Hidden Hills subdivision on December 17, 2021.]()
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Five things to know about Texas’ housing crisis
The Texas Tribune examined the state’s housing affordability crisis and why the state has struggled to build enough homes to meet demand. Full Story
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![San Antonio neighborhoods on May 25, 2024.]()
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How 11 Texas cities made housing unaffordable — and what’s being done to fix it
Texas desperately needs more and denser housing to keep up with the demand. But zoning restrictions get in the way, a Texas Tribune analysis found. Full Story
![Share art for the zoning regulations story for the affordable housing series.]()
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Texas’ high housing costs sparked a movement to bring them down. The fight could shape the state for years to come.
A new breed of activists wants Texas to tame costs by building more housing. But longstanding opposition to such policies remains strong. Full Story
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![Council members and Austin Mayor Kirk Watson are present in person during the Austin city council meeting on Thursday, May 16, 2024 in Austin. Zohaib "Zo" Qadri, Paige Ellis, Mackenzie Kelly, Mayor Pro Tem Leslie Pool and José "Chito" Vela were in person with Mayor Kirk Watson]()
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Affected by Texas’ high home prices and rents? We want to talk to you
The Texas Tribune is writing about the state’s housing affordability crisis. Help us tell the story. Full Story
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![A residential neighborhood seen Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Midland.]()
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Texas must build hundreds of thousands of homes to lower housing costs, says state comptroller
Texas needs hundreds of thousands more homes than it has, per one estimate. That shortage has driven up home prices and rents. Full Story
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![A San Antonio neighborhood on Saturday, May 25, 2024.]()
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Nine out of 10 Texans say housing costs too much, poll finds
Some Texas lawmakers have signaled an appetite to tackle the state’s housing affordability crisis when they convene next year. Full Story
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![Downtown San Antonio on May 25, 2025.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune