Texas’ Proposition 8 Would Dedicate $900M to Flood Control

It’s time for Texans to head to the polls again, and it’s important for voters to be informed about what’s on the ballot.

One of the items under consideration is Proposition 8, which would create the Flood Infrastructure Fund (FIF) for a statewide, cooperative effort for regional flood planning, mitigation and infrastructure projects.

How the Flood Infrastructure Fund Works

FIF would be administered by the Texas Water Development Board and would allow loans at or below market rate to assist in basic flood project planning, extensive grant and application process and engineering of structural and nonstructural flood mitigation projects. It also offers grants to provide the necessary matching funds for local subdivisions to participate in various federal funding programs.

Cost and Infrastructure Funding Process

The state would fund FIF with $793 Million from the Rainy Day Fund – representing 10 percent of the identified projects from TWDB, plus an additional $110 million for the soft costs for startup. Projects eligible for funding depend on TWDB determining all local entities in the region: fully cooperated and substantially participated in the process of developing the projects; held public meetings to accept comments from interested parties; and projects have been completely engineered and scored against one another.

We encourage you to express your right to vote. Early voting began on Monday, Oct. 21 and ends on Friday, Nov. 1. Election day is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Find your nearest polling location here. Click here for a sample ballot.