Prop 4: Dedicated Funding Decades in the Making

Austin, Texas - Every year, Texas Water Foundation recognizes a champion who is making a lasting impact in Texas water and names them Rainmaker of the Year. This year, Representative Cody Harris is recognized for championing legislation that is over twenty years in the making - dedicated funding for water infrastructure.  

Water infrastructure can be large, complex, and costly, taking decades to plan, build, and pay off. As Texas confronts the confluence of rapid population growth, aging infrastructure, and limited water supply, the challenge of how to best finance water infrastructure has returned to focus.

Dedicated funding for water has been a bipartisan policy goal for almost three decades, with various attempts and milestones championed by legislators along the way. The conversation today is a direct legislative descendant of 1997’s landmark water legislation Senate Bill 1 and Senate Joint Resolution 17 by Senator J.E.  “Buster” Brown. 

Senate Bill 1 created the State Water Plan as we know it today, with regionally driven water planning. Senate Joint Resolution 17 proposed a constitutional amendment to create a consolidated fund for the Texas Water Development Board with the ability to issue bonds. While it did not include additional allocations of funding, the voter approved creation of this fund enabled water supply and conservation projects across Texas. Combined, the two signaled both what was possible and how much more was needed to achieve a secure water future for Texas.

In the following decades, water champions made several attempts to secure dedicated funding for water infrastructure through various fees or taxes. These attempts included Senate Bill 3 in 2005, Senate Bill 2310 in 2009, and House Joint Resolution 138 in 2011. While none were ultimately successful, other successes moved Texas towards prioritizing water funding more regularly. In 2011, voters gave TWDB evergreen bonding authority of up to $6 billion. In 2013, voters approved creation of the SWIFT fund for projects in the State Water Plan and seeded it with $2 billion from the Texas Rainy Day Fund.

In 2014 and 2015, voters approved amendments to the Texas Constitution that annually dedicated existing tax revenue for highway projects, ushering in a new model for infrastructure funding that did not depend on new taxes or fees.  However, Texas’ growth and aging infrastructure fueled an increasing price tag of unmet water needs.

In 2023, voters established a vehicle for meeting the state’s varying and growing water needs. Through Proposition 6, voters approved the creation of the Texas Water Fund, an umbrella fund that is managed by Texas Water Development Board and that can disperse funding to various water infrastructure programs. Senator Charles Perry and Representative Tracy O. King championed this legislation and were jointly honored as 2023 Rainmakers for their advancement of this priority water legislation. 

With voter approval of the Texas Water Fund, the Texas Legislature made an initial $1 billion investment that ushered in a new era for water overall as a priority at the Texas Legislature. Texas now had a permanent mechanism in place to address its complex water needs year over year.

As the 89th Texas Legislature convened in 2025, Governor Greg Abbott declared water infrastructure funding an emergency priority item. The Legislature responded with $2.5 billion in supplemental funding for TWDB to use on water projects, and a proposition for voters that establishes a long-term mechanism for dedicated funding that water champions have worked towards for decades. 

On Sept. 30, 2025, Texas Water Foundation will recognize Representative Cody Harris for championing Proposition 4 with a reception and dinner at the Bullock Texas State History Museum. The event brings together more than 300 water champions, policymakers, and advocates to celebrate our Rainmaker of the Year and landmark water policy.

As a first-time Chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, Representative Harris inherited a legacy position held by many of the champions who have worked towards funding in the past. During the 89th, he and his committee navigated water policy discussions that spanned a variety of topics including infrastructure funding, groundwater management, water conservation, regionalization, and water utility regulation. 

At the top of the list of Harris’ achievements is his authorship of what the voters will see as Proposition 4. It will ask voters to approve amending the Texas Constitution to dedicate annually up to $1 billion of sales and use tax revenue to the Texas Water Fund for 20 years.   

With Prop 4 before voters, the 89th Legislature met the mark set last century for securing water in this century.