By Daniel Stefanski |
A southern Arizona lawmaker has introduced multiple bills to help restore transparency and accountability to a key state agency.
Earlier this week, State Representative Lupe Diaz announced that he had filed two proposals to “address the lack of transparency and regulatory overreach within the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR).” Those bills were HB 2692 and HB 2550.
According to the press release issued by Diaz, HB 2692 would “slash ADWR’s budget [and] explicitly direct the agency to prioritize its core responsibilities, such as updating its recent groundwater models with the latest information, quantifying the total volume of groundwater available in rural basins (measured in years), and defending Arizona’s water rights on the Colorado River.” HB 2550 would “accelerate ADWR’s sunset date to July 1, 2026…to prompt a thorough review of the department’s regulatory overreach and ensure accountability to the people.”
In a statement accompanying the announcement of his introduced bills, Representative Diaz said, “As Arizonans, we depend on our state agencies to follow the law, uphold their statutory duties, and stay within their lane – especially when it comes to managing our most critical resource: water. Unfortunately, ADWR, under the direction and control of Governor Hobbs, has been sidetracked by extrastatutory activities that lack legislative authorization. The agency has been diverting critical time and resources away from its core functions to frivolous policymaking councils and focus groups, driving up housing costs for thousands of Arizonans. My legislation sends a strong message that the agency must be held accountable to the people it serves. Arizona’s water policies should be guided by the law, not radical political agendas.”
Representative Diaz added, “If there is a ‘Deep State’ in Arizona, it is Governor Hobbs’ Arizona Department of Water Resources. By the stroke of a pen, unelected bureaucrats in Central Arizona are centralizing control over the state’s water resources by unilaterally adopting rules without proper statutory authority, picking winners and losers, and deciding which uses of land and water are worthy of economic development. Their actions are driving up the cost and limiting the availability of food and housing for thousands of rural and urban residents across the state. The Hobbs’ administration claims it must act unilaterally because it cannot work with the Legislature, but what it fails to understand is that the Legislature represents the will of the people.”
The two bills will be heard in committees and, if given a favorable recommendation, considered by the full House chamber this session. The proposals will likely be dead on arrival, however, in the Governor’s Office if passed by both bodies of the Arizona Legislature due to the political chasm between Hobbs and Republicans on water issues.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.