Joshua Fechter

State budget watchers — and some Republicans — worry Texas is spending too much on property tax cuts.

The Texas Legislature is considering bills that transit officials warn could hamper public transportation in the Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth regions.

Lawmakers, who are preempting locals on lot sizes in new subdivisions, have been eyeing ways to allow more homes to be built as the state faces a shortage.

The proposal is part of a push by Republican legislators aimed at helping property owners deal with squatters.

The goal of the new legislation is to help drive down the cost of housing so that more Texans can afford homes.

House and Senate lawmakers plan to spend at least $6 billion on property tax cuts, but haven't yet agreed on how much relief should go to homeowners over businesses.

Officials said the state’s higher cost of living means less state sales tax revenue, which makes up more than half of the state budget.

Lawmakers will debate how to spend $3.5 billion in proposed tax cuts, a legislative priority for Republican leaders.

Supporters hope easing zoning rules will entice landlords to renovate and ease the state’s housing crisis.

The marquee proposal would increase the amount of a home’s value exemption from school taxes to $140,000 from $100,000.

Local officials, school advocates and tax policy experts said such a proposal could have dire impacts on basic services.

Gov. Greg Abbott said cutting taxes is a top priority, however, state lawmakers don’t have as much money to plug into tax cuts as they did two years ago.

Texas cities, counties, higher education institutions and nonprofits clambered Tuesday to gauge the potential fallout from the suspension, later blocked temporarily by a federal judge.

A massive apartment building boom in the Austin-Round Rock region has driven rents downward, real estate experts and housing advocates have said.

The growth is fueling higher rents and home prices in the North Texas city that was once seen as a more affordable option to Dallas and other major cities.

A likely fight over how much power to take away from local governments may dominate the debate.

Texas added nearly 563,000 residents within the last year, new U.S. Census Bureau estimates show.

A yearslong effort to bring high-speed rail to Texas has recently shown signs of life, but state lawmakers have consistently put up roadblocks to keep it from happening.

Texas’ top elections official said Friday that federal inspectors can’t be inside polls or places where ballots are counted under Texas law after the DOJ announced plans to send monitors to the state.

The Texas Tribune examined the state’s housing affordability crisis and why the state has struggled to build enough homes to meet demand.