The Lone Star State’s voters have gifted a massive pool of money to conservation authorities for creating more state parks.
Texas’ Proposition 14 passed with overwhelming support on Tuesday, paving the way for a new state constitutional amendment to create the Centennial Parks Conservation Fund.
$1 billion for the new fund has already been set aside to acquire land for expanding the list of Texas’ state parks. The measure that passed on election night grants the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department ready access to the money while guarding the fund against reappropriation by the state’s legislature.
The outcome was largely predicted. Earlier polling showed broad support for the plan among Texas voters.
Of those who turned out to the polls, 76 percent voted in favor of the amendment to create the Centennial Parks Conservation Fund. 24 percent voted against the measure, according to the Texas Tribune.
The large majority victory shows that support for the proposition strengthened as the vote neared. Public polling results released by the University of Houston and Texas Southern University before the vote showed 67 percent said they would vote in favor of Proposition 14, while only 15 percent said they would vote against it. 18 percent said they were undecided.
TPWD says it currently manages 89 state parks. The agency is celebrating its 100th anniversary of the Texas state park system this year, thus the name “Centennial Parks Conservation Fund.”
The successful proposition will allow the TPWD to tap the $1 billion fund toward purchasing land to transform into new state parks. The parks authority could also use the funds to improve or expand existing state parks.
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