Marc A. Levin is the Chief Policy Counsel at the Council on Criminal Justice and Senior Advisor to Right on Crime.
After years of watching home prices skyrocket out of reach for first responders, nurses, and young families, in December 2023, Austin city council voted to rewrite its zoning code. The first phase of its HOME Initiative—known as HOME-1—effectively allowed up to three homes on most lots that previously could host only one. A year later,...
Matthew Bernard wanted to build a home. He bought a small lot in Oakland, California, and began clearing several diseased and fallen trees that the local fire department had identified as hazards. The result was a $915,000 “mitigation fee” from the city of Oakland—nearly five times the value of the lot itself. Under Oakland’s tree ordinance,...
Toward an Office of Parental Rights in Texas: A Legal-Political-Historical Approach to the Protection of the Fundamental Rights and Duties of Parents Key points: Changing legal images of the family, constitutional disputes, and state overreach threaten parental rights as a broad, actionable claim of parents over the direction of their child’s life. The Due Process Clause...