House Bill 24 defangs an obscure state law that property owners have been able to use to stop new homes from going up near them.
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas House of Representatives passed a bill on Tuesday to address housing affordability across the Lone Star State.
House Bill 24 by State Rep. Angelia Orr (R-Itasca) would make it harder for residents to stop new homes from being built near them.
It is a priority bill for House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) and part of a slate of bills state lawmakers are considering to combat high housing costs by making it easier to build homes.
Orr said estimates show the state needs 320,000 more homes than it currently has.
“This bill is aimed at helping with our housing crisis across the state,” Orr said.
Currently, if a builder wants to rezone a property and 20% of neighboring landowners object, the city council needs a supermajority to approve the zoning change. A few years ago, a group of Austin homeowners used that law to kill a citywide zoning plan to build more homes.
House Bill 24 would prevent residents from doing that by raising the petition threshold to 60% instead of 20%. A simple majority of city council members would be needed to approve the rezoning.
Some lawmakers opposed the idea. State Rep. John Bryant (D-Dallas) said he worried the bill would make it harder for property owners to prevent commercial or industrial properties from being built next to their homes.
“For nearly all of our constituents, their home is their biggest investment, and they made that investment there because they wanted to be able to live in a neighborhood of that character, and that’s why the law is that way,” Bryant said. “The bill’s text appears to be about affordable housing, but it goes way beyond that.”
Given that the bill is intended to spur more affordable housing and multifamily housing development, Bryant questioned why the bill does not explicitly prevent industrial or commercial development right next door to houses or a neighborhood. Orr said she trusts cities to make the best decision.
“I trust that cities have their own zoning rules in place and that they will thoroughly examine any development that wants to come into your neighborhood,” Orr said.
Rep. Andy Hopper (R-Decatur) advocated for an amendment in the Senate’s version of the bill. It would have made it harder for casinos or sports betting gambling to rezone, but State Rep. Charlie Geren (R-Fort Worth), who led the unsuccessful effort to legalize gambling last session, used a legislative tactic called a point of order to kill the amendment.
State lawmakers did accept an amendment from Rep. Ramon Romero Jr. (D-Fort Worth) to require signage at the physical location of a proposed zoning change throughout the zoning commission process to ensure that people in the area are informed.
The House is considering several other bills this session that address the housing affordability crisis. Last week, the lower chamber passed House Bill 23, making getting building permits easier if cities don’t approve them quickly.
The Texas Senate has passed several bills that reduce zoning rules to allow more homes to be built, but those proposals have not made it to the House floor yet. Similar proposals died in the House last session.
The lower chamber will have to take one more vote on HB 24 before it goes to the Senate for consideration.