*Results are complete but unofficial.
Voters approved to pass Proposition 5 (Prop 5) in the 2023 Election with 1,619,618 (64.35%) votes to approve and 897,405 (35.65%) votes to reject.
Prop 5 is a constitutional amendment that will create the Texas University Fund (TUF) for tier-two research universities in Texas, including Texas State University.
The TUF will consist of a $3.5 billion endowment for schools that have spent at least $20 million in private and federal research funds for at least three years in a row. The money is from existing accounts, meaning more taxes will not be created.
According to Nathan McDaniel, a lobbyist for Prop 5, Texas State will receive $40 million a year for research-specific activities.
The fund will be directly invested in the university to increase job opportunities and research programs, according to Texas State.
Texas State will also use the fund to move from a tier-two to a tier-one university. This will require Texas State to have 100 Ph.D. graduates a year, which the TUF will help fund. Currently, only the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University have tier-one status in Texas.
Texas State President Kelly Damphousse has publicly supported Prop 5 for the university.
“The Texas University Fund is a game changer – not just for Texas State University, but for the state,” Damphousse said on the Texas State website. “TUF is a great investment on behalf of the taxpayers of Texas because it will support research that generates new innovations and jobs. The future of our state as a world thought, research, and economic leader is directly tied to this bold endeavor. Texas is the eighth-largest economy in the world and deserves to have more than two top-100 research universities. The TUF will make that happen.”
