{"id":166,"date":"2025-09-23T17:01:34","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T17:01:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovationscdc.org\/blog\/?p=166"},"modified":"2025-09-23T17:01:34","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T17:01:34","slug":"state-legislatures-make-bipartisan-breakthroughs-on-policies-that-promote-housing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/innovationscdc.org\/blog\/2025\/09\/23\/state-legislatures-make-bipartisan-breakthroughs-on-policies-that-promote-housing\/","title":{"rendered":"State Legislatures Make Bipartisan Breakthroughs on Policies That Promote Housing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How shared principles are driving historic reforms<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

PEW<\/strong><\/span><\/em> Authors:\u00a0Tushar Kansal<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Alex Horowitz<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ArticleSeptember 15, 20256 min<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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JHVEPhoto\u00a0\/ Getty Images<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 2025, state legislatures enacted unprecedented reforms to improve the availability and affordability of housing, with lawmakers in Texas, Washington, and Montana leading the way with major successes. These states passed bills that target multiple regulatory barriers to increased housing\u2014from parking requirements to building codes\u2014demonstrating how individual reforms can cumulatively bring substantial policy change.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Improve Economic Advancement<\/a> <\/a> <\/a>Texas Laws Put State on Path to Better Housing Affordability<\/a> Article July 10, 2025<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The momentum behind these new state laws reflects a growing national consensus around the strong connection between housing availability and affordability\u2014and the types of changes that can improve both. A diverse coalition of policymakers, residents and voters, housing policy experts, and leaders from business, civil rights, property rights, tenant, consumer, and environmental organizations has united around the understanding that overly strict regulations are limiting the availability of homes, especially lower-cost options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, Texas\u2019 Republican leadership advanced housing supply reforms with Democratic backing, while Washington\u2019s parking reform was supported by a diverse coalition of 56 organizations and cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reflecting this broad consensus, dozens of leaders from business and nonprofit sectors from a range of ideological perspectives have signed onto shared “Principles for Enhancing Housing Availability and Affordability<\/a>.” The document articulates four key policy objectives. Policymakers should seek to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n