Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, filed a bill Monday to overturn Texas' ban on "inclusionary zoning." The bill would allow cities to mandate affordable housing through land-use codes.

Hinojosa said in a news release that HB 3050 would allow Texas cities to require developers to build affordable housing as part of new developments. The mandate would come through zoning laws. The practice is used widely in other states but has been prohibited in Texas for more than a decade, according to a news release from the office of Austin City Council Member Leslie Pool.

Pool, according to the release, approached Hinojosa about introducing legislation.

“Austin is growing, but that same growth is leaving many of our residents behind,” Hinojosa said in the release. "When Council Member Pool approached me about this, I could see a lot of potential in working with our city partners to try to help deal with the affordability crisis here and in other Texas cities.”

Pool and her fellow council members Alison Alter, Greg Casar, Ann Kitchen and Kathie Tovo plan to sponsor a local resolution in support of Hinojosa's bill, the release said.

"Inclusionary zoning is the most effective thing we could do to provide affordable housing in every area of the city," Pool said in the release. "The cities are becoming more Democratic and progressive and I think we have a great opportunity of getting this passed."

In the past, the Legislature has been resistant to giving Texas cities the ability to mandate affordable housing. Mainly, affordable housing programs arise from local funding, tax credits swaps and density bonus programs. During the last 2017 legislative session, state lawmakers banned linkage fees, a fee on new development dedicated to subsidizing affordable housing.