Legislation Archive
Session Summaries
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2023 - Fifty-sixth Legislature - First Regular Session
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2022 - Fifty-fifth Legislature - Second Regular Session
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2021 - Fifty-fifth Legislature - First Regular Session
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2020 - Fifty-fourth Legislature - Second Regular Session
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2019 - Fifty-fourth Legislature - First Regular Session
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2018 - Fifty-third Legislature - Second Regular Session
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2017 – Fifty-third Legislature – First Regular Session
Bill Archive
HB 2359: Adequate water supply; statewide requirements
In Brief: Requires a city or county to ensure that a subdivision has an adequate water supply before it may be platted.
Sponsor(s): Stahl Hamilton
Last Action:
Description: This bill would require a city, town, or county to ensure that a subdivision has an adequate water supply or will be served by a provider with an adequate water supply before it may be platted. This bill would also require the Department of Real Estate to ensure that a subdivision has an adequate water supply or will be served by a provider with an adequate water supply before it may issue a public report and allow sale or lease of the land. This bill would also repeal provisions that allow capital investment and infrastructure assurances that would allow development to continue despite no adequate water supply existing.
HB 2366: Physical availability; review; designated providers
In Brief: Prohibits ADWR from adopting the Carry-Over Rule in the Phoenix AMA.
Sponsor(s): Griffin
Last Action: This bill was passed out of House NREW with a 5-4 vote and is awaiting a 3rd Read vote on the House floor.
Description: HB 2366 attempts to endanger the designations of all designated municipal providers in the Phoenix AMA. The bill prohibits ADWR from adopting the Carry-Over Rule in the Phoenix AMA, which allows designated municipal water providers to carry over their unused groundwater allowance when applying for redesignation. Since ADWR has already adopted this rule, we do not believe that this provision would have any impact. However, HB 2366 still directs ADWR to review the physical availability of groundwater and stored water for each designated municipal water provider in the Phoenix AMA.
HB 2368: Transportation; groundwater; Douglas AMA
In Brief: Allows a private water company to withdraw groundwater from the Upper San Pedro Groundwater Basin to transport to the Douglas AMA.
Sponsor(s): Griffin
Last Action: This bill passed out of Senate NREW with a 4-2-1 vote on March 14th.
Description: HB 2368 would allow a private water company to withdraw groundwater from the Upper San Pedro Groundwater Basin to transport to the Douglas AMA if the groundwater will be used for municipal service, the private water company or its predecessor had been engaged in this transportation since September 30, 1992, and the company holds a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity to provide water service in the Douglas AMA. HB 2368 limits the amount of groundwater that may be annually transported to the annual amount that was transported before December 1, 2022. A floor amendment clarified that the bill’s provisions apply to an owner of a non-exempt well.
HB 2399: Reporting; groundwater pumping; measuring
In Brief: Requires measurement and reporting by almost anyone who owns a non-exempt well outside of an AMA or INA.
Sponsor(s): Crews
Last Action:
Description: This bill would require measurement and reporting by anyone who owns a non-exempt well outside of an AMA or INA if the well withdraws more than 10 acre-feet per year for a nonirrigation use or is used to irrigate 10 or fewer acres for an irrigation use. This bill also lists the reporting requirements for the well owner.
HB 2487: Residential lease community; Prescott AMA
In Brief: Establishes water supply-related approval criteria for a building plan for a build-to-rent community in the Prescott AMA.
Sponsor(s): Bliss
Last Action: This bill passed out of the House with a 31-28-0-0-1 vote on February 28th.
Description: HB 2487 would establish water supply-related criteria to dictate when a city or town in the Prescott AMA or the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors could approve a commercial building plan for a build-to-rent or multi-family housing property. The floor amendment also added an emergency clause to the bill, which would allow it to go into effect on the Governor’s signature if at least 2/3 of each legislative chamber vote in favor of the bill. This requirement does not apply to any current or planned build-to-rent or multi-family housing properties that received zoning entitlements before the bill’s effective date. Housing for agricultural workers are exempted from the bill’s requirements.
HB 2589: Assured water supply; analysis; availability
In Brief: Require ADWR to consider certain Analyses of Assured Water Supply as a valid demonstration of physical availability of groundwater.
Sponsor(s): Dunn
Last Action: This bill passed Senate NREW with a 3-2-2-0 vote on March 21st.
Description: This bill would require ADWR to consider an Analysis of Assured Water Supply (that was issued before May 31, 2023, and has not expired) as a valid demonstration of physical availability of groundwater for the amount stated in the Analysis. The analysis must have included a finding of physical availability of groundwater. Additionally, ADWR must subtract the amount of groundwater “represented” by all Certificates that were already issued based on the Analysis from the amount of groundwater considered physically available based on the Analysis. This bill was amended in committee to require ADWR to issue a Certificate using current water demand assumptions instead of water demand assumptions used for the initial Analysis. A separate adopted floor amendment would allow an Analysis holder to reduce the remaining volume of groundwater reserved in that Analysis by 15% after a Certificate has been issued.
HB 2628: Department of environmental quality; omnibus
In Brief: Makes various changes to the ADEQ’s statutes, including those related the Monitoring Assistance Program.
Sponsor(s): Griffin
Last Action: This bill passed out of Senate NREW with a 7-0 vote on March 14th and passed Senate Third Read unanimously on April 2nd. It has been transmitted to the Governor.
Description: HB 2628 is an omnibus bill that makes various changes to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality’s statutes, including those related regulating coal combustion residuals and vehicle emissions. The only water-related provisions of this bill involve the Monitoring Assistance Program, which helps smaller water systems comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act, and one change to the Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program.
HB 2647: Physical availability credits; water supply
In Brief: Allows the holder of an IGR to earn a physical availability credit by permanently retiring their land if certain criteria were met.
Sponsor(s): Smith
Last Action: HB 2647 passed out of the House with a 32-28-0-0-0 vote on March 4th and passed Senate NREW with a 4-3 vote on March 21st.
Description: HB 2647 and SB 1172 would allow the holder of an irrigation grandfathered right (IGR) to earn a physical availability credit by permanently retiring their land from irrigation for future non-irrigation use if certain criteria were met. The land to be retired must have been farmed in 3 of the last seven years, the new non-irrigation use must remain appurtenant to the retired lands, and the groundwater is delivered by a municipal provider, which will withdraw the groundwater from within its service area.
SB 1041: Groundwater savings certificate; assured water
In Brief: Create a new type of a certificate that could be used in place of a CAWS when a developer plans to sell or lease subdivided lands in an AMA.
Sponsor(s): Hoffman
Last Action: This bill passed House NREW with a 6-4 vote and an amendment on March 19th.
Description: SB 1041 would create a new type of a certificate (a Groundwater Savings Certificate) that could be used in place of a Certificate of Assured Water Supply when a developer plans to sell or lease subdivided lands in an active management area (AMA). This bill received an amendment on February 15th, 2024 that adds requirements stating that the groundwater to be used under the Groundwater Savings Certificate must be of sufficient quality, and that the provider or the CAGRD must have financial capability to deliver the water. The amendment also requires the groundwater to be used consistent with the management goal and management plan of the AMA, and the bill no longer authorizes ADWR to grant Designations of Assured Water Supply using these certificates. It was further amended in the House to address some issues related to groundwater physical availability determinations to support this certificate. However, this revised language has raised questions about how this bill could be implemented. None of these revisions address the core concerns with this bill—that it does not protect long-term storage credits and groundwater reserved for previous AWS determinations.
SB 1056: S/E: groundwater replenishment; areas; member lands
In Brief: Provides flexibility to Designated providers assuming Member Lands in the Pinal AMA.
Sponsor(s): Petersen
Last Action: This bill passed Senate JUD with a 6-3 vote and a strike-everything amendment on March 20th.
Description: This bill would require a two-thirds vote in favor by the common council of a municipality or the board of supervisors of a county before any increase of any assessment, tax, or fee.This bill would make it harder for city councils to pass any increase of assessments, taxes, or fees. This would certainly make it harder to increase development fees and may make it harder to increase other fees associated with water service in the AMWUA cities. However, that all changed when this bill received a strike-everything amendment in the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 20th. If engrossed, the amendment would change this bill to be essentially a copy of SB 1181 (groundwater replenishment; member lands; areas) but instead applying to the Pinal AMA. We are perplexed as to how users in the Pinal AMA could take advantage of the phased-in Member Service Area approach as written in SB 1181 and this amendment.