House Committee on Land and Resource Management

Committee Leadership

Chair

Gary Gates (R)

House District 67

Richmond

Vice Chair

Suleman Lalani (D)

House District 76

Sugar Land

Committee Composition

Committee Membership

Gates, Gary (R) House District 67 Richmond Lalani, Suleman (D) House District 76 Sugar Land Alders, Daniel (R) House District 6 Tyler Davis, Yvonne (D) House District 111 Dallas Hinojosa, Gina (D) House District 49 Austin Hunter, Todd (R) House District 32 Corpus Christi Lopez, Ray (D) House District 125 San Antonio Morgan, Matt (R) House District 26 Richmond Virdell, Wes (R) House District 53 Brady

Most Recent Session Activity

Metrics reflect activity during the most recent legislative session.

Interim Charges

• Monitoring: Monitor the implementation and associated rulemaking of all legislation passed by the Committee and enacted by the 89th Legislature, including the following:
  • HB 24, relating to procedures for changes to a zoning regulation or district boundary;
  • SB 15, relating to size and density requirements for residential lots in certain municipalities;
  • SB 840, relating to certain municipal regulation of certain mixed-use and multifamily residential development projects and conversion of certain commercial buildings to mixed-use and multifamily residential occupancy; and
  • SB 1567, relating to the authority of home-rule municipalities to regulate the occupancy of dwelling units.
• Municipal Utility Districts: Consider the proliferation of municipal utility districts (MUDs) and evaluate their impact on housing attainability and affordability, as well as challenges associated with managing growth. Review the methods by which MUDs are created and identify best practices to ensure sufficient oversight exists.
• Housing Affordability: Examine how the following factors may improve housing attainability and affordability:
  • Fees: Examine the collection, use, and oversight of fees imposed by local governments, including impact fees, utility connection charges, permit and inspection fees, and drainage or stormwater fees. Evaluate whether sufficient financial transparency exists and if such fees are used in accordance with their legal authority.
  • Third-Party Review: Study methods to expedite the safe permitting of construction projects to increase housing supply. Review the ongoing implementation of recent legislation regarding the use of third-party reviews of plats and property development plans, permits, and similar documents. Examine methods that have proven successful in other states and recommend statutory changes to expedite the permitting of residential housing projects.
  • Pre-Approval of Residential Building Plans: Examine the impacts and feasibility of allowing municipalities to establish processes for the pre-approval and repeated use of residential building plans, including the potential effects on housing supply, affordability, permitting timelines, and local administrative capacity.
• Agency Oversight: Monitor the agencies under the Committee’s jurisdiction, including for fraud, waste, and abuse, where applicable. The jurisdiction of the Land and Resource Management Committee includes the following agencies:
  • The School Land Board;
  • The Board for Lease of University Lands; and
  • The General Land Office.