Texas is currently experiencing a housing shortage. According to the Texas Comptroller, “Texas was 306,000 homes short of what was needed” in 2023 (Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, 2024). Recently, Texas A&M’s Student Government Association’s Policy Division and Department of Legislative Relations released a data set that estimates that Texas has 1.7 to 4.3 million spare bedrooms (TAMU SGA, 2024). However, under most municipal occupancy ordinances and codes, there are limits to the number of occupants a dwelling may have (if the occupants are not related). On the other hand, municipal occupancy codes and ordinances generally have no limits on related (whether by blood, marriage, or adoption) occupants. These limits on unrelated occupants hamper the ability for Texans to earn a little more cash by leasing a spare bedroom, while also keeping other Texans out of housing. House Bill 2797 (2025) aims to rectify this situation, by prohibiting municipalities from passing ordinances and rules that limit unrelated occupancy, albeit with a few exceptions for health and safety.
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