Austin Ain’t Affordable

What to Know: City officials are shocked, shocked to learn that Hispanic families are fleeing Austin because of affordability issues.

The TPPF Take: City policies are directly responsible for Austin’s affordability problem.

“The city makes it harder and more expensive to build new homes, adding to the shortage that drives up the cost of housing,” says TPPF’s Ellen Troxclair. “This hits the supply of starter homes and multi-family housing hardest. If you’re a builder, you have little choice but to focus on higher-end projects to help recoup your excessive city-driven costs. A 2016 comparison of city fees to build an apartment complex found that Austin’s fees can be eight (or more) times higher than similar fees in Dallas.”

For more on Austin’s affordability, click here.

Unfair Tuition Policies

What to Know: TPPF attorneys have joined with Young Conservatives of Texas to challenge the out-of-state tuition policies at the University of North Texas. Out-of-state students must pay much higher prices, but immigrants here illegally don’t.

The TPPF Take: The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of a state statute that requires out of state students to pay higher tuition rates as being preempted by federal law.

“Federal law provides that all citizens must have access to at least the same level of educational benefits as undocumented individuals regardless of residence,” says TPPF’s Robert Henneke. “Because the state statute directly conflicts with federal law, it is preempted and thus violates the supremacy clause of the United States Constitution.”

For more on the lawsuit, click here.

New Protections for Families

What to Know: State Sen. Bryan Hughes and state Rep. James Frank have filed a bill that would give families further protections in CPS cases.

The TPPF Take: The bill would add important new protections for parents experiencing poverty.

“The majority of children who enter foster care enter due to allegations of neglect, and 75% of the victims of child maltreatment in Texas were victims of neglect only,” says TPPF’s Nikki Pressley. “Neglect has an overly broad definition that leaves room for families struggling to meet their basic needs to be unnecessarily involved in the child welfare system due to economic circumstances. Texas must amend the definition of neglect to allow CPS to focus on children in imminent and immediate risk of harm and protect families from being punished for experiencing poverty.”

For more on protecting families, click here.