By Daniel Stefanski |
Thanks to a veto from the governor, Arizona’s attempt to find solutions for the future of its groundwater supply was marked ‘incomplete’ following the conclusion of the state’s legislative session.
Last week, Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed multiple pieces of legislation pertaining to the vital issue of water in the state of Arizona, while signing a series of those bills.
The most contentious of the latest round of vetoes appeared to be SB 1172, which would have “allow[ed] a person who owns land with an irrigation grandfathered right within an active management area to permanently retire the land from irrigation use and to retain a physical availability credit” – among other things, according to the purpose from the Arizona State Senate. The bill was sponsored by Senate President Pro Tempore T.J. Shope.
Senate President Warren Petersen was extremely disappointed in the governor’s veto of the proposal. He issued a statement over the past weekend, saying, “It’s incredibly disappointing the Governor did not sign SB 1172. Although we engaged her office on this proposal in January, they waited until May to do their due diligence and reneged last minute on an agreement. Her administration dropped the ball, and homebuyers will be the ones losing out because of her inaction.”
Petersen did note that Hobbs had signed three other groundwater-related bills, though he said that those proposals were meant to align with SB 1172 to have the maximum impact for the state. He added, “Three bills to increase housing supply while reducing groundwater pumping in Arizona, sponsored by Senate Leadership, were signed into law. All three measures transition higher-water-use land to lower-water- use housing developments through voluntary programs. While it was important for the state to look for new supplies, we get an equal benefit from reducing the demand on our aquafers. This legislation will allow Arizona to both conserve and grow. However, these bills were part of a package of four that would have made a far greater impact had they all been signed.”
In explaining why she had vetoed SB 1172, Hobbs wrote, “The concept at the core of this bill – conversion of agricultural lands to lower water use development – is a policy that has broad potential benefits and is one that my Administration supports. However, it is critical that the legislation be carefully crafted to ensure that the water conservation savings and consumer protections are guaranteed. It is clear that the unique data among Arizona’s Active Management Areas (AMAs) does not support universal adoption of this program across all four of the state’s initial AMAs (Phoenix, Pinal, Prescott, and Tucson), and that more time is needed to develop this concept in collaboration with stakeholders and lawmakers to ensure the legislation is crafted appropriately.”
The governor said that she “remain[s] committed to these discussions and finding a path forward to responsibly enact this concept.”
At the end of her veto letter to Arizona Legislative leadership, Hobbs highlighted that she had signed three water-related bills. She said, “While more work needs to be done on the ‘ag-to-urban’ legislation, I have signed several key pieces of legislation that promote responsible development and continued sustainable growth, including SB 1081, SB 1181, and SB 1242.”
Those bills were sponsored by Senators Sine Kerr, Petersen, and Shope.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
