Mirroring laws passed by Florida, Georgia, New York, and others, House Bill 1076 criminalizes squatting in a model attempt to ensure that the private property rights of Texans are protected from bad actors (Salmonsen, 2024). In a time when Texas is one of the top three states in which squatters are occupying homes—with “an estimated 475 homes that had been occupied by squatters” concentrated in the Dallas-Fort Worth area (Rahman, 2024)—HB 1076, if passed, would be a major victory in the fight to protect the private property rights of Texans. The specificity of the bill ensures that there is no ambiguity in the law and closes any loopholes that bad actors have taken advantage of in the past. By doing so, HB 1076 aims to secure one of the most sacred of all rights: the right to property.
Taxes & Spending
Assessing Tax Trends in the City of Arlington
Does history suggest that property taxes are too high in the city of Arlington? And, if so, have local decision-makers actively helped or hurt the situation? To help answer these questions, let’s review the city’s 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) and gather four types of data—i.e., tax levies, local population, total tax rates, and taxable values—over a 10-year time horizon. Using these audited estimates, we can gauge the growth of government (i.e., tax levy trends), assess its reasonability...
February 20, 2026