The Municipal Right of Way Fee

July 19, 2012

Municipal right of way fees cost Texas consumers and business more than $500 million every year.

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Protecting Texas Critical Infrastructure: Prevention, Mitigation, and Recovery from Natural Disasters and State Actor and Terrorist Attacks

Protecting Texas Critical Infrastructure: Prevention, Mitigation, and Recovery from Natural Disasters and State Actor and Terrorist Attacks By: The Honorable Chuck DeVore Download the full research paper here. Key Points Texas’s critical infrastructure remains vulnerable to natural disasters and attacks. The federal government largely abandoned civil defense 50 years ago. Should key elements of Texas’s...

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Property Rights

Housing Is Too Expensive. Blame Your Local Tree Ordinance.

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,...

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Local Government

Reinvigorating Federalism and Fiscal Discipline in Texas: Establishing the Office of State Sovereignty

Texas governments received $84.3 billion in federal funding in 2023, raising concerns over financial dependency and regulatory consequences. Creating an Office of State Sovereignty to monitor the application, receipt, and conditions of this aid could mitigate fiscal risk and improve transparency. Key points: Texas lacks a centralized system to oversee federal grants potentially flowing to...

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Protecting Texas Critical Infrastructure: Prevention, Mitigation, and Recovery from Natural Disasters and State Actor and Terrorist Attacks

Housing Is Too Expensive. Blame Your Local Tree Ordinance.

Reinvigorating Federalism and Fiscal Discipline in Texas: Establishing the Office of State Sovereignty