State Capitol Building of Texas

Unintended Consequences of Legislation Could Increase Flood Risk

5/3/25 – A well-intentioned bill that just moved from the Texas House to the Senate could have dire unintended consequences in certain circumstances. One of the unintended consequences is increased flood risk.

State Capitol Building of Texas
State Capitol Building in Austin. Your future flood risk could depend on what happens here.

Bill Purports to Make Housing More Affordable

HB23 (and nearly identical companion bills SB2354 and HB2977) give developers the ability to privately hire engineers to approve the developer’s plans as a substitute for review by cities or counties. The intention: to speed up approvals of everything from plats to permits, thus lowering the costs of housing.

However, the bills are also a recipe for conflict of interest. It doesn’t take much imagination to see why. Moreover…

  • Corners could be cut that endanger public safety.
  • Neighbors would have no way to protest new developments that could adversely affect their property values.

And that’s only one barrel of the shotgun. The second barrel? Potential interaction with a law passed in 2023.

Changing Plats Already Approved

In 2023, the legislature gave developers the right to opt out of a city’s Extra Territorial Jurisdiction (ETJ). Once a developer, such as Ryko has left the ETJ, it could change plats at will with the developer’s hired gun running the show. And nearby homeowners would have no recourse or even an opportunity to protest.

  • Land once promised as parks could be turned into apartments.
  • Forests could be leveled.
  • High-density development could clog quiet residential streets.
  • Increased stormwater runoff could increase flood risk.

The combination of HB23 and the 2023 ETJ law would remove governmental accountability and oversight from development. It would be like going to a basketball game without referees. The results might not be so pretty.

Homes could flood repeatedly because assumptions about floodplains and flood elevations fundamentally changed without oversight.

HB23 purports to make housing more affordable. But it also fundamentally changes the balance of power between developers, neighbors and government. It takes government out of the equation, leaving neighbors without protection.

An Amendment Could Help

If HB23 survives the Senate, at a minimum, the Senate needs to add language to HB23 (or one of its companion bills) that prevents developers from bypassing government reviews for plats and re-plats by removing their land from a city’s ETJ. 

If a developer wants to re-plat land, that’s fine. But make them go through a government review that lets adjoining property owners and their HOAs have their voices heard.

As it stands, HB23 and its companion bills stifle protest.

The bills would also make government unaccountable.

How You Can Help

At this point in the legislative session, it looks like HB23 has a better chance of success than its companion bills. I am against HB23 and its companion bills as they stand.

At a bare minimum, they need to include amendments that preclude re-platting land without government approval.

If you agree, during the next commercial break email the authors of these bills: 

And don’t forget Governor Greg Abbott.

Legislation should create predictable outcomes, not unintended consequences.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/3/25

2804 Days since Hurricane Harvey

The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.