To tackle high housing costs, Texas lawmakers push to build more homes
Housing advocates, builders and real estate experts agree that the state simply isn’t building enough homes to keep up with its booming population and economic growth. Full Story
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Joshua Fechter is the urban affairs reporter for The Texas Tribune, covering policy — including housing affordability, evictions, policing and transportation — and politics in Texas' major metropolitan areas. Before joining the Tribune in August 2021, Joshua covered City Hall for the San Antonio Express-News. He holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin.
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![New home construction at a Longview subdivision on Dec. 17, 2021.]()
Credit: Michael Cavazos for The Texas Tribune -
The Texas House and Senate differ on how to cut property taxes. Here’s what their proposals say.
Cuts to school property tax bills. Bigger tax benefits for homeowners. A controversial idea to limit property tax growth. Here’s what you need to know about the brewing property tax debate at the Texas Legislature. Full Story
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![An Aerial image of a suburban neighborhood in San Marcos on October 18, 2021.]()
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Texas renters got unprecedented help during the pandemic. The Legislature is unlikely to extend it.
Lawmakers will decide whether to keep protections that shielded tenants from eviction — or to ban them. Full Story
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![A leasing sign outside Garden Court Apartments in north Midland, where rent for a one-bedroom can run as high as $850 per month. Leasing signs were an uncommon sight in Midland as recently as 2014, when apartment occupancy nearly hit 100 percent. It's fallen to about 80 percent now, according to the Permian Basin Apartment Association.]()
Credit: Jerod Foster for The Texas Tribune -
After a two-year pause, feds give Texas the go-ahead to resume a major Houston highway expansion
Across the state, major projects have drawn fierce opposition in recent years amid a reckoning over how freeway construction in the mid-20th century created and exacerbated racial and economic segregation. Full Story
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![An aerial view of four houses next to I-45 near downtown Houston on Sept. 16, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas House’s property tax bill calls for $17 billion in cuts, tighter appraisal cap
Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan’s proposal reveals the different roads the Texas House and Senate want to take on property taxes — and the fight that might emerge between the two chambers this session. Full Story
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![Construction workers build houses in the new Teravista neighborhood in Georgetown on May 18, 2016.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
Mayors in some of Texas’ biggest cities face little opposition in May reelection bids
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker face little opposition in their reelection bids. Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson doesn’t have any challengers. Full Story
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![From left: Mayors Eric Johnson of Dallas, Ron Nirenberg of San Antonio, and Mattie Parker of Fort Worth. All three are running unopposed in their upcoming elections.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott proposes devoting $15 billion to property tax cuts in budget plan
Abbott’s spending proposals also include spending $750 million on school safety and mental health services and expanding postpartum Medicaid to a year. Full Story
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![The state Capitol in Austin on Feb. 9, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Austin’s city manager fired over botched winter storm response
Spencer Cronk, who headed the city since 2018, fell out of favor with council members after communication failures that mirrored problems from the 2021 winter storm. Full Story
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![Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk sits in a special called city council meeting at Austin City Hall on Feb. 15, 2023.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
A new winter storm and old problems raise questions about Austin leaders’ response to crises
As newly elected Austin Mayor Kirk Watson and a City Council with an array of fresh faces review their first major crisis, the city’s top officials once again find themselves trying to figure out why the city botched its response to a significant weather event. Full Story
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![Austin Mayor Kirk Watson speaks with the press to discuss the city's response to mass power outages after a ice storm, at the Combined Transportation, Emergency, and Communications Center in Austin on Feb. 3, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Austin city manager’s job could be on the line after winter storm response
Austin City Council members will evaluate Spencer Cronk’s employment during their Thursday meeting. Cronk was hired in 2017. Full Story
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![Austin City Mangaer Spencer Cronk gives the opening remarks during the Swearing in Ceremony for police chief Joseph Chacon at the LifeAustin Muller Church in Austin on Oct. 29, 2021. Chacon will be Austin's 10th police chief.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune