A GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS OF WATER-RELATED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS IN TEXAS, 1985–19911

ABSTRACT: Texans participate directly in water policy decision-making through a referendum process involving amendment of the state's constitution. Prior to 1985, Texans voted on eight amendments. Five of these were ratified (1957, 1962, 1966, 1971, 1976), and collectively resulted in the creation of the Water Development Fund, with an authorization level of $600 million, and the Texas Water Development Board, the organization charged with administering the fund. Three other amendments were defeated in 1969, 1976, and 1981 by ever-increasing margins. From 1985 to 1991, six additional amendments were proposed and subsequently ratified, resulting in a $1.8 billion increase in Water Development Fund authorization and the creation of an agricultural water conservation fund and bond insurance program. County-level electoral data for the 1985–1991 referenda were mapped to assess sectional and regional factors underlying public opinion regarding these water resource development and funding programs. Regional contrasts were most pronounced for the 1989 and 1991 referenda that targeted economically distressed areas across the state, particularly the colonias located along the Rio Grande, and the 1989 amendment that removed a time limit on the issuance of agricultural water conservation bonds. As a specific case study, the Texas experience could serve as a guide in California where similar constitutional restrictions require tax and spending programs to be approved by voters, and in other states that may be considering the development of similar state-level financial programs for water projects.