education, resources, and advocacy
education, resources, and advocacy
Texas Homeless Network's Statewide Advocacy
Homelessness Awareness Day
Each legislative session, Texas Homeless Network unites advocates from across the state to educate lawmakers on policies that make homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring. On March 12th, we brought this powerful movement back to the Texas Capitol, with over 100 advocates joining us in action.
Together, we spoke directly with legislators about real solutions to homelessness, from expanding affordable housing to strengthening crisis response systems. It was a powerful opportunity to show the strength of our community, share stories, and influence policies that create lasting change.
Thank you to everyone who joined us! Your voice made a difference for the 25,000 Texans experiencing homelessness.
2025 Texas State Legislative Session
THN leads Texas communities to make homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring. Our vision is that all communities in Texas have a coordinated response system in place to end homelessness. We work on behalf of nearly 1,000 service providers in the state who work day in and day out to end homelessness for Texans.
Throughout 2024 at minimum 62,000 Texans experienced homelessness. And, on any given night, between 27,000 to 30,000 people in our state are on the street or in shelters. Among these Texans, nearly 6,500 are households with children, over 5,000 are chronically homeless, over 1,800 Veterans, and over 2,700 are victims of domestic violence. We can do better for our fellow Texans.
Listed below is proposed legislation introduced as part of the 89th Texas Legislative session that THN and its partners are following. These bills are priorities because they impact people experiencing homelessness and those working to prevent and end homelessness, positively or negatively. The list of bills below will grow over the next several weeks as the session begins.
Our Policy Priorities
Strengthen Homeless Crisis Response Systems
Homeless Crisis Response Systems, or Continuums of Care, prevent and end homelessness by strategically developing systems based on data-driven solutions. These systems can quickly and efficiently use funding to prevent or divert households from homelessness. Our priorities for strengthening homeless crisis response systems are:
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- HB 2808 (Rose) – Relating to the administration by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs of a homeless housing and services program for youth and young adults. Filed: 2/13/25. Referred to Intergovernmental Affairs on 3/19/25.
- HB 636 (Walle)/SB 2488 (Parker) – Texas Homeless Data Sharing Network (THDSN) Expansion – Relating to implementing a statewide homeless data sharing network to share real-time data on homelessness and allow for homeless response and healthcare system integration. Notes: Filed 11/12/24. Heard in Intergovernmental Affairs on 3/18/25.
- HB 1173 (Raymond) – Relating to the administration of the homeless housing and services program by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Notes: Filed 11/12/24. Referred to Intergovernmental Affairs on 3/7/25.
- HB 2142 (Cole) – Relating to a study by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs on the feasibility of using certain models to address homelessness in this state. Filed: 1/28/25. Referred to Intergovernmental Affairs on 3/14/25.
- HB 2754 (Garcia) – Relating to a pilot program awarding grants for the provision of personalized treatment protocols for homeless veterans diagnosed with substance use disorders. Filed: 2/12/25. Referred to S/C on Defense & Veterans’ Affairs on 3/19/25.
- HB 2016 (Bucy) – Relating to the establishment of the housing Texas fund to be administered by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Filed: 1/22/25. Referred to Intergovernmental Affairs on 3/14/25.
- HB 3205 (Campos) – Relating to the imposition of a county housing first initiatives fee in certain counties. Notes: Referred to the S/C on County & Regional Government on 3/20/25.
- SB 2487 (Parker) – Relating to procedures for and certain facilities providing crisis and mental health services. Filed: 3/13/25.
- SB 1164 (Zaffarini) – Relating to emergency detention of certain persons evidencing mental illness and to court-ordered inpatient and extended mental health services. Notes: Referred to Criminal Justice on 2/28/25
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Expand Affordable, Accessible Housing Opportunities
Ending homelessness requires housing. Texas must support the development and rehabilitation of more affordable housing if we want to end homelessness.
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- HB 714 (Walle)/SB 337 (Eckhardt) –Texas Tenant Readiness and Landlord Incentive Program –Relating to the establishment and implementation by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs of the Texas Tenant Readiness and Landlord Incentive Pilot Program. Note: Filed 11/12/24. Referred to Intergovernmental Affairs on 3/4/25.
- HB 1608 (Garcia) – Relating to adopting a veterans’ land bank program by the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation. Note: Filed 11/12/24. Referred to S/C on Defense & Veterans’ Affairs on 3/12/25.
- HB 438 (Rosenthal) – Relating to prohibiting an increase in the rent of a tenant residing in a development supported with a low-income housing tax credit allocation. Note: Filed 11/12/24. Referred to Intergovernmental Affairs on 2/28/25.
- HB 570 (Lalani) – Relating to informing certain housing assistance applicants about the availability of certain public assistance programs. Note: Filed 11/12/24. Referred to Human Services 3/3/25.
- HB 2724 (Cole) – Relating to equitable operations policies for certain emergency homeless shelters. Note: Filed 2/12/25. Referred to Intergovernmental Affairs on 3/7/25.
- HB 2426 (Garcia) – Relating to an assessment on the use of surplus government property to provide housing to homeless veterans. Note: Filed 2/4/25. Referred to S/C on Defense & Veterans’ Affairs on 3/17/25.
- SB 2983 (Parker) – Relating to strategies to address homelessness and affordable housing in certain counties, including the repurposing of land located in those counties, the use of certain tax revenue attributable to that land, and building restrictions in certain municipalities. Notes: Filed on 3/14/25.
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Targeted Intersectional Assistance
Recognizing and acting on the disparities particularly affecting people experiencing homelessness/housing insecure folks who are also people of color, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, people with criminal histories, and/or people with disabilities and mental illness.
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- HB 1144 (Shaw) – Relating to state and local government disaster preparedness. Note: Filed 11/12/24. Referred to Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans’ Affairs on 3/7/25.
- SB 1324 (Johnson) – Relating to the establishment of a housing assistance pilot program to assist certain students enrolled in public junior colleges. Note: Filed 2/14/25. Referred to Education K-16 on 2/28/25.
- HB 505 (Bucy) & Duplicate bills HB 1042 (Bhojani). | HB 1712 (Collier) – Relating to the issuance of a certified birth record, driver’s license, or personal identification certificate to a homeless individual. Note: Filed 11/12-24 – 12/30/24. Heard in Intergovernmental Affairs committee on 3/25/25.
- HB 2476 (Simmons) – Relating to a grant program for living expenses for certain students enrolled at public institutions of higher education. Filed: 2/5/25. Referred to Higher Education on 3/17/25.
- HB 1785 (Bucy) – Relating to the eligibility of a person who is homeless to take the high school equivalency examination. Filed: 1/8/25. Referred to Higher Education 3/14/25.
- HB 1966 (Garcia) – Relating to a study on the housing needs of youth transitioning out of foster care or the juvenile justice system. Filed: 1/22/25. Referred to Intergovernmental Affairs on 3/14/25.
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Legislation That May Hinder Efforts to End Homelessness
This section was added to educate policymakers and advocates on bills that contain proposed actions that, in THN’s opinion, limit opportunities for communities to address homelessness effectively.
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- SB 399 (Sparks) – Relating to the effectiveness of state-funded homelessness programs at helping beneficiaries advance toward self-sufficiency. Note: Referred to Senate committee Finance on 2/3/25 and referred to House committee Delivery of Government Efficiency on 3/27/25.
- SB 617 (Schwertner) – Relating to hearing and public notice requirements regarding the conversion by a municipality of certain properties to house homeless individuals. Note: Passed out of The Senate on 4/2/25 and referred to the House committee Intergovernmental Affairs.
- SB 241 (Flores) – Relating to prohibitions on camping in a public place. Note: Passed out of Local Government on 3/24/25. Note: Passed out of The Senate on 4/8/25.
- SB 2623 (Creighton) – Relating to establishment and enforcement of school safety zones; providing a civil penalty (prohibits homeless service provision within 1.5miles of a school safety zone as defined on page 1 of the bill). Note: Heard in Education K-16 on 3/8/25 and was left pending.
- SB 38 (Bettencourt)/ HB 32 (Button | Geren | Moody | Smithee | Leach) – Relating to the eviction from real property of certain persons not entitled to enter, occupy, or remain in possession of the premises. Note: Senate: Voted out Local Government on 4/1/25 and placed on intent calendar for Senate on 4/9/25. House: Committee substitute considered in Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence on 4/8/25 and reported favorably.
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Continue checking this page for updated bills and priorities throughout the session.
In addition, be sure to subscribe to our THN advocacy newsletter to stay informed.
THN's Current Advocacy Work
- Staff continues to participate in state and national calls to advance legislative efforts for affordable housing, decriminalizing homelessness, and funding for wrap-around homeless services in all communities in Texas.
- THN continues to meet with state and federal elected officials and their offices to advance our policy goals to end homelessness.
- THN received a grant from the Opportunity Starts at Home (OSAH) campaign to form a multi-sector coalition to advance federal housing and homelessness issues.
- Statewide Initiatives staff is co-leading monthly meetings of the Texas Housing Coalition, a collaborative working group of statewide agencies invested in protecting housing and increasing affordability in our state.
How you can help:
Sign onto the following action letters:
- Send a message here to urge your members of Congress to ensure any reconciliation package includes robust, affordable housing investments targeted to people with the greatest needs.
- Add your organization to NLIHC’s HoUSed campaign
- The HoUSed campaign seeks to provide universal, stable, and affordable housing for the most oppressed and low-income people.
THN Policy Stances & Press Releases
In an effort to create a strong and unified voice, THN has led efforts to create statewide policy stances on issues surrounding homelessness. We invite individuals and communities to use these sample press releases as templates in advocating at a local, state, or federal level. We ask that when you use our language, please let us know when and where you are sharing the message.
Press Releases
Past Public Statements on HUD Proposed Changes
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