Overview
- Proposition 4 authorizes deposits of up to $1 billion a year into the Texas Water Fund beginning in 2027, triggered only when annual state sales-tax collections exceed $46.5 billion.
- The program draws from existing revenue with no new taxes, and the Texas Water Development Board will select projects through its regular application process.
- By law, funding is split between expanding new water supplies and repairing or building infrastructure, with eligible uses including desalination, pipe replacement, water reuse, reservoirs and flood mitigation.
- TWDB officials say dollars are expected to reach local projects later this decade, with legislative appropriations in 2027, potential transfers in 2028 if the trigger is met and availability projected by fall 2029.
- The measure passed with broad support at the ballot box after clearing the Legislature by wide margins, while critics warned about constitutional earmarks, transparency and environmental or local-control impacts as overall needs far exceed $20 billion.