Lawmakers have long expressed concern about the Lone Star State’s dwindling water supply and low per-capita state park acreage. However, one Rockwall state representative hopes to do something about it. District 33 State Rep. Justin Holland (R-Rockwall) filed a bill March 1 to pull $2 billion from the state’s $27 billion surplus to provide water resources and expand public parks.
“It’s our responsibility as custodians of this land to pass on a state where future Texans will be able to enjoy the outdoors, parks, wildlife, and nature,” Holland said in a public statement. “I am proud to introduce legislation calling for the creation of the Texas Land and Water Conservation Fund.”
If approved, the fund would award grants to improve water quality and enhance river flow, create new parks, and restore wildlife habitats.
Rep. Justin Holland’s House Bill 3165
Holland, a second-generation real estate broker who graduated from Rockwall High School and Texas Tech University, has served in the Texas House of Representatives since 2017.
Holland’s House Bill 3165 was sent to the Natural Resources Committee last week for review. If the bill passes, a Constitutional amendment creating the fund would be on a November ballot.
According to the legislation, the fund would be dedicated to the “conservation of, restoration of, or public access to land, water, or natural resources in this state, and providing for the transfer of certain general revenues to the economic stabilization fund, the land and water conservation fund, and the state highway fund.”
As lawmakers grapple over how to spend the $27 billion “rainy day fund,” much of which has been promised by Gov. Greg Abbott to relieve property tax hikes, Holland said his conservation fund offers a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to invest in Texas land and water.
Organized support for the bill is already coming from Klyde Warren Park and Trinity Park Conservancy.
Water Supply And Demand
In recent summers as drought and wildfire ravage the Texas landscape, residents are again reminded that water is in a near-crisis shortage.
City officials in Gunter, a small Grayson County community near Sherman and Celina, asked residents last summer to “severely restrict non-essential water usage” like outdoor watering, washing machines, and dishwashers. Residents also were cautioned to limit the use of showers and sinks due to the water shortage.
Researchers from Rice University say the state’s water supply is projected to drop 18 percent by 2070, during which time population growth will exceed demand by 9 percent.
Texas Association of Builders executive vice president Scott Norman told builders at a November luncheon that water could be subjected to federal permitting and onerous regulations as a result of not specifying the definition of “navigable waters” in the Clean Water Act.
“It’s maddening,” he said. “Water, floodplain, wastewater systems, water availability, and supply are being weaponized by the no-growth and the NIMBYs. It’s not just wild-hair, stinky hippie greenies. It’s conservative, Republican legislators who are bringing bills. We had to kill three last session. Retired Houston millionaire oil guys have their ranches in the Hill Country and don’t like the development they see coming west. They’re bringing bills trying to shut it down creatively in the name of river flow and no discharges to stop growth.”
Texas State Park Expansion
As the state continues to grow in population, the parks system is “bursting at the seams and struggling to meet public demand for recreational opportunities,” writes Luke Metzger, executive director of Environment Texas.
Metzger’s research shows that Texas ranks 35th in the nation for state park acreage per capita, with 54 percent fewer parks than similarly-sized Florida.
“Insufficient parkland means our parks too often reach capacity and have to turn people away,” Metzger wrote in an opinion piece for the Houston Chronicle. “Booking a campsite can require months of advance planning.”
Ninety-five percent of Texas land is privately-owned, leaving just 2 percent protected as state and local parks, according to the Texas Land Conservancy.
There’s another side to the story, though. Setting aside land for state parks means less developable property for builders, right?
Maybe not. Phil Crone, executive officer of the Dallas Builders Association, said his team hasn’t taken a position on Holland’s bill.
“The great thing about our state is that there is plenty of land both to build on and enjoy,” he said.
