AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Gov. Rick Perry is applauding Texans’ approval of using $2 billion in reserve funds to help the state meet the future water needs of its booming population and economy.
In a Tuesday statement, after the amendment to the Texas Constitution known as Proposition 6 passed by a wide margin, Perry said “the people of Texas made history.”
He said the vote will ensure “we’ll have the water we need to grow and thrive for the next five decades, without raising state taxes.”
The proposition move $2 billion from Texas’ rainy day fund to its water infrastructure fund.
The money would help defray the borrowing costs on large-scale water infrastructure projects, including creating reservoirs, laying new pipelines and replacing older ones.
It had been widely expected to pass.