According to the Texas Comptroller, Texas is more than 300,000 housing units short of meeting the growth in population the state has been experiencing over the last decade. There are ways for the state government to intervene on behalf of the people to remove overburdensome regulations that have contributed to an artificial scarcity of homes. The purpose of SB 840 is to allow by right mixed-use residential and commercial zoning, which would make converting empty office spaces into housing units much easier. Converting offices into housing has a lower construction impact than new development because the structure and much of the infrastructure (e.g., electricity, plumbing, HVAC) are already in place. This, combined with other measures, would add to the housing supply and aid in bringing prices down to a more affordable range for consumers.
Local Government
Ft. Worth ISD’s New Superintendent Scores Big Payday
In October 2025, Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath notified Fort Worth ISD (FWISD) trustees and administrators that “chronically low levels of support given to students and very low levels of academic performance” had prompted a state takeover of district operations. In support of the intervention, officials provided ample evidence of the obvious problems, like...
May 27, 2026