Texas Office of Attorney General
03/09/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 03/09/2026 12:51
Attorney General Ken Paxton Successfully Strikes Down Biden-Era Rule and Protects Affordable Housing from Costly Energy Requirements
Attorney General Ken Paxton secured a major legal victory after a federal court struck down a Biden-era rule that threatened to reduce the availability of affordable housing by imposing costly green energy requirements for new home construction.
The lawsuit was brought by a coalition of 15 states and the National Association of Home Builders, which relied on Attorney General Paxton to argue the case in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
In 2024, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ("HUD") and the U.S. Department of Agriculture ("USDA") issued a rule requiring that new homes be built with certain federal housing financing to comply with significantly stricter energy-efficiency building codes. The rule would have applied to housing financed through programs such as FHA-insured mortgages, USDA rural housing loans, and various federally assisted housing initiatives. These mandates required builders to install stronger insulation, higher-efficiency windows, tighter building envelopes, upgraded heating and cooling systems, and other costly requirements that would have increased construction costs and made affordable housing harder to build.
Attorney General Paxton successfully argued that the rule violated federal law because it would reduce the availability of affordable housing. Federal law allows adoption of new energy standards only if they do not negatively affect the availability or affordability of housing. The court also ruled that HUD and USDA lacked the statutory authority to impose the updated standards in 2024. As a result of the ruling, the woke 2024 energy standard has been vacated and is no longer in effect.
"The Corrupt Biden Administration's radical policies were reducing the availability of affordable homes and making it harder for Americans to achieve the dream of homeownership," said Attorney General Paxton. "This ruling is a major victory for homebuyers, builders, and families and helps protect access to affordable housing."
To read the ruling, click here.
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