by Daniel Stefanski | Mar 4, 2025 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
How much water does Arizona currently have? That’s the question on the mind of Arizona lawmakers this legislative session.
Last week, Arizona House Republicans revealed that a small group of legislators had previously sent a letter to the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR), asking the agency “to provide basic information on the following details related to Arizona’s rural groundwater basins:
- The average depth-to-water level in each basin
- The maximum depth of each basin
- The average depth of each basin
- The total volume of groundwater in each basin
- The number of index wells in each basin.”
The letter, which was authored by State Representative Gail Griffin, Senator Tim Dunn, and former Senator Sine Kerr, was transmitted to ADWR on December 23, 2024.
Speaking about the reasoning behind the letter to ADWR, Representative Griffin said, “The intent was to give Arizonans a better understanding of the groundwater supply beneath their feet. For the last two years however, none of the Department’s assessments have included this basic information – such as ‘how much water do we have’ and ‘how long will that water last.’ This information is a fundamental component of the ‘supply’ side of the ‘supply and demand’ equation and needs to be included in each of the Department’s five-year ‘Supply and Demand’ Assessments.”
According to the press release issued by House Republicans, ADWR “provided a preliminary response to the December 23 letter, stating the number of active index wells in each basin and the maximum depth of each basin at its deepest point.” The response shared that the “Wilcox and Gila Bend groundwater basins are 4,800 feet deep at their deepest point.” However, as the release highlights, “The Department has yet to provide the total amount of groundwater that is available to each of these depths.”
Representative Griffin is not at all satisfied with ADWR’s incomplete answers. She said, “Just because you drill a well does not guarantee that there will be one hundred years’ worth of water. Republicans and Democrats both agree we need to know how much water is available in order to make informed decisions on critical groundwater policy. It’s also essential to our ability to plan for the future. How are we supposed to plan if we don’t know how much water we have?”
With these questions in mind, Griffin introduced a bill (HB 2271) this legislative session “to update the 5-year Supply and Demand Assessment statute and require the Department to include this information in its reports, moving forward.” If the proposal was signed into law, it would “provide critical answers to these basic questions, such as, ‘How much water do we have?’ and ‘How many years will that water last at the current rate of decline?’” Answering these questions would allow legislators to “plan to add new tools that work for rural Arizona, such as groundwater recharge, replenishment, and reuse.”
Focusing on her bill, Griffin said, “we understand that additional steps may be necessary to gather this information, but we also believe that taking these steps is a necessity to do our jobs effectively. I think the Department wants to make decisions based on science and that, if we give it the time and opportunity to gather this information, it will result in a better and more constructive dialogue for everyone.”
HB 2271 was approved by the Arizona House of Representatives last week.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Feb 7, 2025 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
A coalition of Arizona legislators are taking steps to improve the state’s wildfire mitigation efforts.
This week, State Representative Lupe Diaz, the Chairman of the House Committee on Land, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs, updated constituents on the progress of bills in the Arizona Legislature, which are meant “to protect lives, property, and communities from the growing threat of catastrophic wildfires.”
Those bills include:
- HB 2201, which was sponsored by Representative Griffin. The bill “requires utilities to develop and submit biennial Wildfire Mitigation Plans, which include clearing hazardous vegetation around power lines to prevent utility-caused wildfires.”
- HB 2219, which was sponsored by Representative Marshall; HB 2395, HB 2398, and HB 2400, which were sponsored by Representative Blackman; and HB 2694, which was sponsored by Representative Griffin. These bills “allocate funding for fire contingency planning and wildland firefighting efforts in Arizona’s high-risk areas.”
- HB 2456, which was sponsored by Representative Marshall. This bill would “establish fire incident management grants to assist districts across the state.”
- HB 2577, which was sponsored by Representative Griffin. The bill “cuts red tape to give the State Forester more flexibility to protect communities.”
- HB 2639, which was sponsored by Representative Griffin. This bill “extends the ‘healthy forest’ tax incentive to encourage responsible forest thinning and prevent catastrophic fires.”
In a statement, Representative Diaz said, “Public safety is more than law enforcement and border security – it means defending our communities from preventable disasters. Arizona has seen what happens when wildfires are mismanaged in places like California. We refuse to let that happen here. Our plan prioritizes proactive fire mitigation efforts, responsible forest management, and ensuring that Arizonans are protected when disaster strikes.”
Diaz added, “Preventing wildfires means enacting responsible management before disaster strikes. We are working with state agencies, local officials, and private utilities to get boots on the ground, clear hazardous areas, and stop wildfires before they start. This is what leadership looks like, and it’s exactly what Arizonans expect from us.”
Governor Katie Hobbs did not mention plans to address wildfire mitigation efforts in her State of the State address to the Arizona Legislature at the beginning of the 57th Regular Session last month. Chairman Diaz’s release highlights that the Democrat governor’s “proposed budget offers zero funding for hazardous vegetation removal or forest thinning despite recognizing that wildland fire costs have been ‘much higher in recent years’ due to neglected forest maintenance.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Jan 27, 2025 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Republicans in the Arizona Legislature are wasting no time to improve the state’s groundwater situation in this 57th Regular Session.
On Tuesday, the Arizona House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources, Energy & Water gave a green light to House Concurrent Memorial 2003, which “states the Legislature’s interest in having the Arizona Department of Water Resources and the Arizona State Land Department focus on increasing groundwater recharge through groundwater recharge infrastructure projects,” according to the overview provided by the State House of Representatives.
In a statement, State Representative Gail Griffin, the measure’s sponsor, said, “County supervisors, flood control districts, and natural resource conservation districts have the authority to construct stormwater detention basins and other constructive infrastructure that increase groundwater recharge. Local and county officials should push the Governor’s Department of Water Resources and State Land Department to develop these projects within their communities to increase local water supplies.”
Griffin added, “Over 95 percent of rainfall in the state evaporates before it can naturally recharge aquifers. Increasing the amount of natural recharge by only a few percentage points would increase the amount of local water supplies substantially. The solution to unleashing economic prosperity in rural Arizona through increased water supplies is investing in additional groundwater-stormwater recharge. Local communities have tools to address groundwater issues. We need to work together to utilize those tools to secure our long-term water supplies.”
The press release from the Arizona House Republicans Caucus shared that “projects like Horseshoe Draw Recharge Project in Cochise County and Hualapai Flood Control Project in Mohave County are examples of projects that increase local supplies without expanding the size of government or imposing top-down government regulations on rural industries.” There are “331 sites on state trust land that the agencies have identified as suitable for maximizing groundwater recharge.”
According to the Arizona Legislature’s Request to Speak system, representatives from the Arizona Farm and Ranch Group, Audubon Arizona / National Audubon Society, and Arizona Cotton Growers Association, signed in to support the bill. Representatives from the Sierra Club – Grand Canyon Chapter and CHISPA Arizona – A Program of League of Conservation Voters, signed in to oppose the legislation.
Republicans and Democrats will continue to do battle over water issues in this divided state government, as they have for the previous two years. Governor Katie Hobbs has been largely unwilling to adopt Republican policies on these matters, vetoing bills over the past two sessions that would have strengthened Arizona’s position on water conservation, management, and proliferation for current and future generations. The two sides still appear to be far apart on water issues as another legislative session heads into its second month.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Jan 26, 2025 | Economy, News
By Daniel Stefanski |
The State of Arizona is fast-tracking a tax reduction policy through the legislature that became a staple of President Donald J. Trump’s campaign platform over the past year.
This week, the Arizona House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means passed HB 2081, which would exempt taxation on tipped wages from the state’s individual income tax.
State Representative Gail Griffin, a Republican who was the sponsor of this legislation, said, “I worked in the service industry years ago and understand the challenges tipped employees face. Tips are an expression of appreciation from customers for services provided. Tips are gifts and, in my opinion, should not be taxed. HB 2081 ensures that Arizonans who rely on tips to support themselves and their families can keep more of their hard-earned money. I’m grateful to Chairman Olson for making this the committee’s first bill for the session.”
Another Republican lawmaker, State Representative Neal Carter, added, “A key feature of a good taxation system is voluntary compliance and simplicity of administration. Tips are often paid in real time and in strange amounts. Taxing tips simply punishes the honest because strict compliance is difficult to achieve.”
As a candidate for President, Trump announced his plan for no federal taxes on tips back in June in the State of Nevada. Shortly after Trump’s announcement last summer, his Democrat opponent, then-Vice President Kamala Harris, mirrored his proposal in an attempt to woo voters on the campaign stump. On Inauguration Day this week, the newly minted Commander in Chief riffed that he thought his campaign may have secured the State of Nevada’s electoral votes in the November General Election because of that promise.
A poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research earlier this month showed that 54% of respondents would strongly or somewhat favor eliminating taxes on earnings from tips.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that there are 2,277,900 waiters and waitresses across the country.
The bill passed the Arizona House committee along a party-line vote – 5-3, with one Democrat member absent.
According to the Arizona Legislature’s Request to Speak system, representatives from the Republican Liberty Caucus of Arizona, Arizona Licensed Beverage Association, and Fraternal Order of Police AZ State Lodge, signed in to support the bill. Representatives from Living United for Change in Arizona, the Arizona Center for Economic Progress, and Rural Arizona Action opposed the legislation.
HB 2081 will soon make its way to the floor of the Arizona House of Representatives for a vote from the full chamber.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
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.
