The Weekly: Voters Back Resilience When the Project and the Price Are Clear

Control of Congress wasn’t the only question on the ballot in Tuesday’s elections. Climate resilience was, too. Voters in 18 states weighed in on a wide variety of adaptation investments and resilient infrastructure projects designed to harden their communities against floods, storms, and fires.

Many of these won public approval. Of the 57 state and local measures with a direct or indirect link to climate resilience that The Epicenter tracked on Tuesday’s ballots, 34 had passed as of this Friday morning, three had failed, and 20 were still being counted, most of them in California.

The results showed a clear pattern. Renewals of existing resilience measures and financing schemes sailed through with large majorities. New levies proved a harder sell. And in several states, voters backed measures that curbed local government revenues—which could, in turn, shape how much adaptation work counties and cities can carry out over the next decade.

Note: Most results below are unofficial and several are still being counted.

Flood and Storm Bonds Passed from the Gulf Coast to New England

Several large bond measures aimed at managing flood, coastal erosion, and stormwater risk won approval this election cycle, including:

• St. Petersburg, Florida: Voters approved a $600 million bond to harden stormwater, wastewater, and drinking-water systems against storm surge and sea level rise—two years after Hurricane Milton knocked out two of its three wastewater treatment plants. The bond will accelerate the city’s SPAR (St. Pete Agile Resilience) long-term investment plan, which calls for $2.7 billion in capital spending between 2027 and 2050. The bond will be repaid through a new property levy, costing about $96 a year per $100,000 of taxable value.
• Arkansas: Issue 4 passed with 56%, authorizing up to $500 million in state general obligation (GO) bonds for water, drainage, flood control, and wetlands and aquatic resources projects. Funds can pay for new projects or refinance earlier debt. They can also match federal money for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, which pay for local water and wastewater infrastructure projects. The bonds will be repaid from general state revenue rather than a dedicated fee.
• Rhode Island: Question 5, the $55 million Green Economy Bond, drew 67% of the vote, the widest margin of the state’s five bond measures on the ballot. The bond will catalyze a new Resilient Rhody Infrastructure Fund with $25 million in matching grants and low-cost loans for municipal flood, erosion, and stormwater projects. Narragansett Bay will also receive $7 million for green infrastructure, watershed management, and stormwater risk reduction. As a GO bond, this will be repaid out of general state revenue.

One large bond proposal in the City of Midlothian, Texas, bucked the trend. Voters rejected a package of five bond propositions that would have backed $192 million in new spending, including $10 million for stormwater drainage and flood control improvements.

California Wildfire Measures Pass; Colorado’s Rest on a Knife’s Edge

Californian communities that burned recently appeared eager for more financing to support prevention.

• In Los Angeles, Measure FD, introducing a half-cent sales levy to invest in the fire department—a measure introduced by the firefighter’s union after the Palisades Fire—passed with around 54% of the vote. It would raise about $345 million a year for new fire stations, more firefighters, and equipment upgrades.
• Napa County, where more than 65% of land has burned in seven years, gave Measure B 64%, approving a half-cent sales levy to fund wildfire grants and watershed protection efforts. 
• Sonoma County’s Measure H—extending a sales tax to preserve and improve its parks, protect water supplies, and reduce future wildfire risk—garnered 76% of the vote, easily passing the two-thirds majority threshold needed for approval.

The picture was different in Colorado. Proposition 137 would redirect existing sporting-goods sales revenue to conservation, including about $83 million a year for wildfire mitigation and watershed protection. While it does not introduce a new levy on the population, it reduces the amount of tax refunds allowed under the state’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR). Any revenue the state collects above the TABOR cap must be refunded to taxpayers.

"Yes" led by only 3 points at the time of writing.

Tax Base Changes Pose Challenges to Future Resilience Spending

While many voters approved targeted financing measures for resilience, in some cases they also waved through far-reaching changes to their local and state tax bases, which could limit the revenues available to meet current and future resilience needs. State and local governments are innovative funders of infrastructure and resilience projects across the country, and rely on tax income to pay for these public works. Reducing this income may complicate the ongoing funding of resilience efforts in years to come.

• Florida: Amendment 3 to the state constitution passed with about 62%, exceeding the 60% supermajority required. The amendment raises the homestead exemption to $250,000 by 2028 and halves the annual assessment cap on non-homestead property, essentially shrinking the amount of taxable property across the state. Economists estimate local governments could lose nearly $12 billion a year from 2030, if no state or local replacement is instituted. Matt Posner, Head of Public Finance at The Resiliency Company, said: "In one election, Florida voters cut local property tax revenue and declined to strengthen the state’s rainy day fund. That puts the burden squarely on how well governments use the dollars they have. Every resilience decision, whether to hold reserves, harden infrastructure, or buy insurance, should now come with a clear cost-benefit case grounded in the specific risks a community faces."
• North Carolina: An amendment directing the legislature to limit local property levy growth passed with about 60% of the vote. While the limit itself isn’t set yet, one estimate puts the cost of a hypothetical 2% cap at about $588 million a year for counties and $362 million for the 75 largest municipalities.

Voters in other states chose not to alter the tax base. Oklahoma’s State Question 847—which would have lowered the state’s assessment caps for property levies—did not pass. Nor did Wyoming’s Initiative 1, a similar measure to reduce that state’s property tax. In California, Proposition 43 is also heading for defeat, with around 55% voting against. The measure would have tightened the approval threshold for special taxes—including those funding wildfire prevention—requiring two-thirds voter support rather than a simple majority.

Taken together, this election cycle was broadly positive for public resilience finance, but with a clear caveat. While voters from coastal Florida to rural Arkansas approved bonds and refinancing tied to visible, previously experienced hazards, certain other tax-based measures struggled for traction. Meanwhile, changes to the overall tax base authorized in some states could have significant consequences for resilience financing over the long term. 

The Epicenter Posts You Might Have Missed:

• Alabama Paid for Stronger Roofs. Hurricane Claims Fell Up to 74% | The Epicenter | Alabama used five financing levers to get insurers and homeowners to pay for FORTIFIED roofs.
• Cities Face $1 Trillion in Deferred Infrastructure Costs. Building Resilience Requires Pricing That Exposure | The Epicenter | Municipal markets overlook the cost of aging infrastructure. New tools can help cities size their reserve funds against their actual exposure.
• To Solve America’s Housing Crisis, We Need to Center Resilience | Alexis Pelosi | If we don’t build it right and build it to last, new housing supply won’t solve today’s housing crisis.

What We’re Reading From the Resiliency Ecosystem

Public Infrastructure

• Election Day Commentary | Resilient America | This election cycle, voters in New York, California, Florida, and elsewhere were asked to weigh in on how much their local governments should set aside for a rainy day. The ballot measures reflect a growing focus on how governments prepare financially for an uncertain future.
• FEMA Commits $1.3B to Disaster Recovery, Resilience | Smart Cities Dive | The Federal Emergency Management Agency is offering $400 million to reduce flooding and awarded nearly $900 million in recovery and mitigation grants as it shifts responsibility to local governments.
• Flood Resilience Projects ID’d Throughout White Oak River Basin | Coastal Review | The White Oak River Basin Action Strategy was released November 2 by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, identifying 95 prioritized actions to help communities within the basin reduce flood risk and strengthen resilience.

Read more about resilient public infrastructure and government solutions on The Epicenter here.

Real Estate & Construction 

• Pennsylvania Law Addresses Flood Risk Disclosure by Home Sellers | Insurance Journal | Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed into law House Bill 1704, requiring home sellers to inform prospective buyers of their property’s flood risk from July 2028 onwards. The law also directs consumers to the Pennsylvania Insurance Department website with information on flood zones, insurance coverage options, and mitigation strategies.
• FEMA Launches New Option to Buy Flood Insurance Online | Association of State Floodplain Managers | FEMA launched a new tool that allows users to purchase a National Flood Insurance Program policy completely online through Floodsmart.gov. This online purchase option is available nationwide for anyone living in one of the almost 22,700 participating NFIP communities.
• US Buildings Lost to Wildfires Could Triple By 2060 | Inside Climate News | The number of buildings across the contiguous United States threatened by wildfires could almost triple by 2060, according to a new study in Nature Communications, if the country continues to ignore the perils of climate change, mismanage its forests and build homes in places where large fires naturally occur.

Read more about resilient real estate on The Epicenter here.

The Statistic of the Week 

7,701

Number of structures to benefit from stormwater infrastructure financed by St. Petersburg’s $600 million bond.

Source: City of St. Petersburg

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The Epicenter helps decision-makers understand climate risks and discover viable resilience solutions. The Epicenter is an affiliated publication of The Resiliency Company, a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to inspiring and empowering humanity to adapt to the accelerating challenges of the next 100+ years.