Texas Natural Resources Committee will review the Texas Water Development Board’s stewardship of the newly funded water program and weigh data-center water use — the only charge open to public testimony.
When: 10:00 AM, Tuesday, June 23, 2026
Where: Room E2.036, Capitol Extension, Austin
Chair: Rep. Cody Harris, R–Palestine (HD-8)
Vice Chair: Rep. Armando Martinez, D–Weslaco (HD-39)
Format: Invited testimony only on three charges; invited and public testimony on the data-center charge
Live video: house.texas.gov/video-audio/
Submit comments online: comments.house.texas.gov/home?c=c390 (written comments accepted until the hearing adjourns)
The Texas House Committee on Natural Resources will convene at 10 a.m. Tuesday to examine how the state is standing up its newly supercharged water fund and to confront a fast-growing strain on Texas water supplies: data centers. The committee will hear invited testimony on most of its agenda, opening the microphone to the public on a single charge.
Chaired by Rep. Cody Harris, R-Palestine, the panel meets in interim session as the Texas Water Development Board prepares to administer one of the largest infrastructure commitments in state history. In November, voters approved Proposition 4, a constitutional amendment that dedicates the first $1 billion a year in state sales-tax revenue to the Texas Water Fund from 2027 through 2047 — roughly $20 billion over two decades — once annual sales-tax collections exceed $46.5 billion. Lawmakers from both parties had cast the measure as a generational response to aging pipes, mounting water losses and the demands of a fast-growing population, and the interim hearing is an early checkpoint on whether the money will reach projects on schedule.
Agency oversight. Invoking its broad oversight authority under Section 301.014 of the Government Code, the committee will monitor the Texas Water Development Board, including for fraud, waste and abuse. The board sits at the center of every other item on the agenda.
Implementing Proposition 4. Members will track the rulemaking carrying out House Joint Resolution 7 — the measure that became Prop 4 — and Senate Bill 7, the enabling legislation passed by the 89th Legislature. SB 7 directs that at least half of the new money flow to the New Water Supply for Texas Fund and the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas. The underlying Texas Water Fund itself was created when voters approved Proposition 6 in 2023.
Program capacity. The committee will assess whether existing state and federal water-finance programs, including SWIFT, can absorb and deploy the new revenue, and will weigh strategies to mitigate any short-term funding shortfalls before the dedicated stream begins flowing in 2027.
Data-center water use and conservation. The lone charge open to public testimony examines the total water consumed by Texas data centers — direct and indirect — as the state’s artificial-intelligence buildout accelerates. Members will consider regulatory, permitting and infrastructure questions around water-efficient development, particularly in water-stressed regions, and weigh policy options to optimize supplies. The charge reflects rising concern over the cooling water consumed by the large server farms multiplying across the state, and it is the only item on Tuesday’s agenda on which members of the public may testify in person. Because the panel is meeting in the interim, it will not vote on legislation; any recommendations would inform bills filed when the 90th Legislature convenes in 2027.
Committee members
- Rep. Cody Harris, R–Palestine (HD-8) — Chair
- Rep. Armando Martinez, D–Weslaco (HD-39) — Vice Chair
- Rep. Trent Ashby, R–Lufkin (HD-9)
- Rep. Jeffrey Barry, R–Pearland (HD-29)
- Rep. Cecil Bell Jr., R–Magnolia (HD-3)
- Rep. Brad Buckley, R–Salado (HD-54)
- Rep. Caroline Fairly, R–Amarillo (HD-87)
- Rep. Erin Gámez, D–Brownsville (HD-38)
- Rep. Josey Garcia, D–San Antonio (HD-124)
- Rep. Mary E. González, D–Clint (HD-75)
- Rep. Ramon Romero Jr., D–Fort Worth (HD-90)
- Rep. Denise Villalobos, R–Corpus Christi (HD-34)
- Rep. Erin Zwiener, D–Driftwood (HD-45)