Proposition 1 will give Texas voters a chance for input on highway funding
Oil and gas production in Texas is at an all-time high. Since companies removing resources from Texas land pay a severance tax, state income from these sources is also at a peak. Traditionally, the first portion of that income goes into the state’s general fund. After a specified threshold is met, the rest goes into the Economic Stabilization fund, also known as the Rainy Day Fund. If voters approve Proposition 1, a little more than one-third of those revenues (or $1.7 billion this fiscal year) would be transferred directly to the State Highway Fund. (Currently, TxDOT estimates a $5 billion annual transportation shortfall in the fund.) The Texas Tribune has produced an animated graphic showing how this process would work.
by Todd Wiseman and Aman Batheja, The Texas Tribune
If a statewide proposition on this year’s ballot passes, the Texas Department of Transportation could pull in billions of dollars in additional funding for new highway projects. So what is Proposition 1, and how would it work?
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://www.texastribune.org/2014/10/09/animation-what-is-proposition-1/.