Texas Scorecard by Brandon Waltens July 31, 2026
The governor proposed penalizing cities that circumvent state housing law while saying large data centers should be kept out of neighborhoods.ROUND ROCK—Gov. Greg Abbott unveiled a slate of housing affordability proposals Friday, including a plan to penalize cities and counties that circumvent state law by imposing costly homebuilding mandates, while also clarifying that his concerns about data center construction extend beyond rural Texas.
Speaking at a campaign event focused on affordability, Abbott announced a legislative proposal that would withhold sales tax revenue from local governments that violate a new state law—Senate Bill 15—intended to make it easier and less expensive to build homes.
“Already last year, I signed a law to make it easier and cheaper to build homes, but some local governments are skirting the law, imposing costly mandates,” Abbott said. “Going forward, any city or county violating the law will have their sales tax revenue withheld.”
Abbott told Texas Scorecard that some cities are attempting to discourage residential development by piling costly requirements onto new projects.
“They will add very costly amenities to what the requirements are,” Abbott said. “It could be requiring eight stories be built for multifamily housing; it could be adding very large swimming pools. It could be adding dog-walk parks in areas that don’t demand it.”
More:
https://texasscorecard.com/state/abbott-unveils-housing-affordability-proposals-says-data-centers-dont-belong-in-neighborhoods/
