My name is Judge Shepard, and I am a policy analyst with the Texas Public Policy Foundation. I am submitting this as written testimony in favor of SB 2354.
Per the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), in 2023, Texas was “the state with the highest number of single-family permits issued,” as well as “the state with the highest number of multifamily permits issued” (NAHB, n.d.). Similarly, data from NAHB shows that in 2023, Texas issued 149,860 singlefamily permits and 82,513 multifamily permits (NAHB, n.d.) (see Table 1, next page). Regulations, including permitting and inspections, “account for nearly 25% of the cost of a single-family home,” as well as “more than 40% of the cost of a typical apartment development” (NAHB, 2025).