by Matthew Holloway | May 6, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
The Goldwater Institute recently sent an email that its lawsuit announced in January against the Hobbs administration is moving forward.
In the email, Goldwater highlighted the potential impact of the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) controversial new rule imposing the requirement of a 100-year groundwater supply across wide swaths of the state.
Goldwater’s Vice President for Litigation Jon Riches wrote, “This government overreach sets a troubling precedent for other bureaucratic agencies to bypass the authority of the legislature. Due to ADWR disregarding the legislative process and the risks posed by the water rule, the Goldwater Institute is suing Governor Hobbs’ administration.”
Goldwater is challenging the Arizona Department of Water Resources’ (ADWR) controversial new rule imposing the requirement of a 100-year groundwater supply across wide swaths of the state. The troubling regulation was detailed earlier this year in an op-ed from Goldwater’s Vice President for Litigation Jon Riches and in a report by AZ Free News.
Riches explained that Hobbs’ appointed Director of ADWR, Tom Buschatzke, is “working outside Arizona law,” by implementing the new “unmet demand” rule, unilaterally without legislative approval or following the statutory rule-making process.
He wrote, “Despite Buschatzke’s apparent desire to act as a mini czar with unilateral power to determine this state’s water policy, his authority — like all government power — is constrained by Arizona law. And that law is crystal clear: When regulatory agencies like ADWR attempt to impose sweeping policies — such as halting all new home construction across large parts of the Valley — they must do so through formal rulemaking, allowing for public input. Instead, Buschatzke sidestepped this requirement and imposed his homebuilding moratorium with the stroke of a pen. The Goldwater Institute, where I work, is now suing the agency to halt the illegal rule.”
In the email, Riches warned, “If someone wanted to build a house, they would be blocked from doing so if another part of the designated region, miles and miles away, did not meet the criteria of this water rule.”
The email also outlined three direct impacts that Arizona taxpayers could expect to feel: “Increased housing costs, prevention of homebuilding, [and] a dangerous precedent for government overreach.”
Riches added, “This is one of the most critical lawsuits by the Goldwater Institute in our history. We have been successful in challenging unconstitutional laws in the past, and we are ready to fight this one.”
The complaint in Home Builders Association of Central Arizona v. Arizona Department of Water Resources can be found online here. The case is currently in the Maricopa County Superior Court pending a response from the ADWR.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Jonathan Eberle | Mar 17, 2025 | News
By Jonathan Eberle |
Arizona’s ongoing housing crisis is taking center stage as state lawmakers, led by House Majority Leader Michael Carbone, voice strong opposition to Governor Katie Hobbs’ water policies, accusing them of exacerbating the state’s housing shortage. In a statement released last week, Carbone applauded House Speaker Steve Montenegro for authorizing a lawsuit against the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) over its adoption of a controversial 33.3% groundwater tax. Carbone claims that this policy is driving up the cost of housing and ultimately harming Arizonans who are already grappling with soaring housing prices.
At the center of the dispute is a policy known as the housing moratorium, which has been criticized for preventing the development of large swathes of land that could otherwise be used to build affordable homes. According to Carbone and other critics, the moratorium was adopted illegally, and it has led to a situation where hundreds of thousands of acres of land remain undeveloped. This, in turn, limits the amount of available space for new homes, driving demand to already crowded urban areas and increasing housing costs.
Carbone explained that “water policy is land use policy, and land use policy is housing policy,” suggesting that the restrictions on land development, while related to water conservation, are having broader economic consequences.
As a result of the moratorium, many Arizonans are facing higher costs when it comes to purchasing new homes. The housing moratorium is expected to increase home prices by $19,600 to $23,700 per house. Additionally, the proposed 33.3% groundwater tax has been predicted to add an extra $5,100 to $7,900 to the cost of new homes. These measures have raised concerns about the affordability of housing, especially in a state already struggling with rapid population growth and a housing shortage.
The Arizona House of Representatives, alongside the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona (HBACA) and members of the Arizona Senate, have joined forces in a legal battle against the ADWR’s actions. The lawsuit seeks to halt the 33.3% groundwater tax, which lawmakers argue is not only illegal but also harmful to Arizona’s housing market. Carbone criticized the governor’s policies, stating that they are not about ensuring water security but rather a means of “government control.”
“The Governor wants to dictate where and how Arizona families live, limiting all future growth to cities and driving up home prices,” Carbone said. “Affordable housing is central to the American Dream, and we are committed to fighting these illegal policies that will only make the housing crisis worse.”
The legal battle focuses on the ADWR’s authority to implement such a tax and whether it complies with state law. Proponents of the lawsuit argue that homebuilders have long demonstrated a commitment to responsible water management, having replenished 100% of the groundwater they use annually since 1995. Therefore, they contend, penalizing the homebuilding industry with additional taxes is unfair and counterproductive.
Jonathan Eberle is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Jan 31, 2025 | News
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.
by Matthew Holloway | Jan 25, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
Governor Katie Hobbs is now facing a serious legal challenge from the Goldwater Institute, acting on behalf of the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona, to put a stop to what Goldwater described as “one of the most significant bureaucratic overreaches in Arizona’s history.”
On Wednesday, Goldwater announced the lawsuit against Arizona’s Democrat Governor stating that Hobbs is “taking illegal actions” that would worsen the state’s ongoing housing crisis by imposing a certification requirement in parts of Maricopa County that, in addition to showing a 100-year groundwater supply, must also meet the dubious standard of “unmet demand.”
Writing for Goldwater, Stacy Skankey explained, “Although the phrase ‘unmet demand’ does not exist in Arizona law, this new rule now requires homebuilders to show a 100-year groundwater supply across the entire water management area (a specially designated area with a reliance on groundwater) rather than at the site of the proposed development. In other words, if a groundwater shortage is projected anywhere within a management area, the Department of Water Resources now claims that there is insufficient groundwater elsewhere in the Valley.”
As reported by AZ Free News in December, Goldwater penned a letter to the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) urging the agency under Hobbs to reconsider its “AMA Wide Unmet Demand Rule,” noting that the new rule was in violation of the law having been imposed without legislative approval or via the required rulemaking process.
According to ADWR, “Unmet demand occurs when the model cannot simulate pumping of all demands included, thereby creating a pumping shortfall or deficit. This pumping shortfall or deficit occurs when there is insufficient saturated aquifer to satisfy the pumping demand (i.e., the depth-to-water level reaches bedrock) or when the depth to water exceeds 1,100 feet after 100 years of simulated pumping.”
Essentially, unmet demand occurs when the state’s modeling is insufficient to predict demand. In other words, the basis for shutting down Arizona housing development is that the Hobbs administration’s simulation doesn’t work.
As noted in an op-ed for the AZ Capitol Times by CEO of the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona Jackson Moll and Goldwater Institute Vice President for Litigation Jon Riches, the Phoenix Active Management Area (AMA) Groundwater Model being used by the Hobbs administration, coupled with the ‘unmet demand’ standard, moves the goalposts on developers who have mitigated impact on the state’s water needs for nearly 30 years by replenishing pumped groundwater back into the water table.
Riches said in a statement, “Decisions on vital statewide concerns like the availability of affordable housing and the responsible stewardship of our natural resources should be made through a transparent, democratic process—not imposed by executive fiat.”
Moll added, “Gov. Hobbs’ deeply inaccurate and flawed claim that Arizona is running out of groundwater is having devastating effects on housing affordability in the state, which already ranks among the worst in the country.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Daniel Stefanski | Jan 25, 2025 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Another Arizona lawmaker is pushing back against the governor’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
Earlier this week, Arizona State Representative Gail Griffin issued a scathing response to Governor Katie Hobbs’ recently released budget for Fiscal Year 2026. Griffin, the Chairman of the House Natural Resources, Energy & Water Committee, wrote, “As usual, the Governor talks a big game on water but does little to prioritize the solutions that matter.”
The all-important issue of “water” in Arizona has been a source of great contention over the past two years with the state’s current status of a divided government. In Hobbs’ State of the State address, she said, “As I said when I stood before you last year, we must act now to protect Arizona’s water. And when the Legislature did not, I did. I remain committed to true, bipartisan reform to protect our groundwater. But mark my words, if this Legislature fails to act. I will… Again. Further, any bills that attack our assured water supply program, undermine our water future, or are political cover for this Legislature’s lack of action on water security, will meet my veto pen.”
Hobbs proposed a $3 million investment to create a Colorado River Litigation Fund to “ensure that The Department of Water Resources (ADWR) has the resources to defend Arizona’s interests and water users who depend on the State’s precious Colorado River entitlement.” The governor also requested another six full-time employees for ADWR “to meet the demanding water policy challenges facing Arizona,” among other proposals from her team, including almost five million dollars for renovations to fish hatcheries across the state.
Representative Griffin also stated, “With Governor Hobbs’ latest proposal, it seems the Governor is more interested in building new homes for fish and birds than building new homes for hard-working Arizonans. Nothing in the Governor’s budget does anything to increase the critical supply of for-sale housing or support the American Dream of home ownership.”
Griffin added, “Arizona House Republicans are committed to advancing fiscally responsible solutions that address our critical housing and water supply issues, preserve the American Dream, and unleash economic prosperity in our state while protecting our individual rights and liberties. We will continue to put the interests of Arizona citizens first – and this will be reflected in our ongoing budget negotiations and proposals.”
The longtime Arizona Republican legislator’s comments about housing and water policies mirrored what two Senate lawmakers in her party had to say following the governor’s state of the state address earlier this month. In a video following the speech, Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen said, “We agree with the Governor that home ownership has become unaffordable for many Arizonans… but the Executive’s mandate halting home construction in two of the most booming areas of the valley was irresponsible, and first-time homebuyers are suffering the consequences of sky-high prices.”
Senate President Pro-Tempore T.J. Shope noted, “We must build. We have the water to support the growth. We use the same amount of water today that we did 70 years ago – and we have 6 million more people today! Arizona knows how to conserve water. Right now we have legislation to allow us to continue to grow and build homes while conserving water. Governor, sign our Ag-to-Urban bill. You vetoed it last year. Don’t make the same mistake twice.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
