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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh Legislature, First Regular Session
AMENDED
unclaimed property; department of revenue
(NOW: San Simon Valley; groundwater; election)
The House of Representatives adopted a strike-everything amendment that does the following:
Purpose
Background
The Director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) may
designate an area which is not included within an active management area (AMA)
as an INA if the Director of ADWR determines that there is insufficient
groundwater to provide a reasonably safe supply for the irrigation of cultivated lands in the area at the current rate of
withdrawal and if the establishment of an AMA is not necessary. The
designation of an INA may be initiated by the Director of ADWR, or by petition
to the Director of ADWR, signed by either: 1) 10 percent of the registered
voters residing within the boundaries of the groundwater basin or subbasin; or
2) not fewer than
25 irrigation users of groundwater, or one-fourth of the irrigation users of
groundwater within the boundaries of the groundwater basin or subbasin (A.R.S.
§§ 45-432
and 45-433).
In a subsequent INA, only acres of land that were irrigated at any time
during the five years preceding the date of the notice of the initiation of
designation procedures may be irrigated with groundwater, effluent, diffused
water on the surface or surface water. In an INA, each person withdrawing
groundwater from a non-exempt well for an irrigation use and each person
withdrawing more than 10 acre-feet of groundwater per year from a non-exempt
well for a
non-irrigation use must use a water measuring devise approved by the Director
of ADWR and file a report on a calendar year basis with the Director of ADWR.
In filing a report, each person withdrawing 10 or fewer acre-feet of
groundwater per year from a non-exempt well for a
non-irrigation use must estimate the quantity of groundwater withdrawn (A.R.S.
§ 45-437).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Allows the Cochise County BOS, prior to July 2, 2026, to vote to place a question on the 2026 general election ballot, for Cochise County residents that reside within the San Simon Valley Groundwater Subbasin, of whether to designate the portion of the San Simon Valley Groundwater Subbasin that is located in Cochise County as an INA.
2. Allows the Graham County BOS, prior to July 2, 2026, to vote to place a question on the 2026 general election ballot, for Graham County residents that reside within the San Simon Valley Groundwater Subbasin, of whether to designate the portion of the San Simon Valley Groundwater Subbasin that is located in Graham County as an INA.
3. Deems all qualified electors who reside within the boundaries of the San Simon Valley Groundwater Subbasin as eligible to vote on whether to designate the portion of the San Simon Valley Groundwater Subbasin that is located in the county of which the voter resides as an INA.
4. Deems all election expenses incurred for the designation of a portion of the San Simon Valley Groundwater Subbasin as the responsibility of Cochise County.
5. Requires the Director of ADWR to transmit, to the county recorder, any factual data concerning the boundaries of the portion of the San Simon Valley Groundwater Subbasin that is located in Cochise County or Graham County that can aid the respective county recorder in determining whether voters of Cochise County or Graham County are residents and eligible voters of the portion of the San Simon Valley Groundwater Subbasin that is located in Cochise County or Graham County.
6. Requires the transmitted data to include a map of the residences in the portion of the San Simon Valley Groundwater Subbasin that is located in Cochise County or Graham County.
7. Requires any registered voter of Cochise County or Graham County, whose residency in the portion of the San Simon Valley Groundwater Subbasin that is located in Cochise County or Graham County is in question, to be allowed to vote in the special election related to the designation of the INA.
8. Requires the ballot to be in a separate envelope, the outside of which must contain the precinct name and number, the signature of the voter, the residence address of the voter and the voter's registration number, if available.
9. Requires the voter receipt card to be attached to the envelope.
10. Requires the county recorder to verify the ballot for proper residency of the voter before counting within five business days following the election and return the voter receipt card to the voter.
11. Requires verified ballots to be counted using the procedure outlined for counting early ballots.
12. Requires the ballot, if residency in the portion of the San Simon Valley Groundwater Subbasin that is located in Cochise County or Graham County is not verified, to remain unopened and be destroyed.
13. Requires the Director of ADWR within 30 days after the general election results are certified, if a majority of eligible voters voted in favor of the designation of the San Simon INA, to make and file an order designating the portion of the San Simon Valley Groundwater Subbasin that is located in Cochise County or Graham County as an INA and file a true map of the INA in the Cochise County Recorder's Office or the Graham County Recorder's Office.
14. Prescribes the format of the ballot questions.
15. Allows an irrigation user in the San Simon Valley Groundwater Subbasin that is located in Cochise County or Graham County, if the Cochise County BOS or Graham County BOS votes affirmatively on placing the outlined question of designating an INA on the 2026 general election ballot, from and after the date of the vote until the date the general election results are certified to only irrigate with groundwater from a non-exempt well if:
a) the acres of land that are irrigated were irrigated with groundwater from a non-exempt well at any time during the five years immediately preceding the date of the vote; and
b) the person irrigates with five or fewer acre-feet of groundwater per acre of land the person irrigates per year.
16. Allows, in a subsequent INA, only acres of land that were irrigated with groundwater at any time during the five years preceding the date of the notice of the initiation of designation procedures to be irrigated with groundwater.
17. Requires, in a subsequent INA:
a) each person withdrawing groundwater from a non-exempt well for an irrigation use and each person withdrawing more than 10 acre-feet of groundwater per year from a non-exempt well for a non-irrigation use to use a water measuring device approved by the Director of ADWR; and
b) each person withdrawing groundwater from a non-exempt well to file an annual report with the Director of ADWR by March 31 of each year on a form provided by the Director of ADWR.
18. Exempts a person withdrawing groundwater from a non-exempt well in an initial INA from the requirement to use an approved measuring device and file an annual report with the Director of ADWR if:
a) groundwater withdrawn from the well for an irrigation use is used only on land that is owned by a person who has the right to irrigate 10 or fewer contiguous acres of land at the place of the use;
b) groundwater withdrawn from the well is not used on land that is part of an integrated farming operation;
c) the person withdraws two and one-half or fewer acre-feet of groundwater per acre of land that the person irrigates in the calendar year; and
d) the person provides an estimate of the quantity of groundwater withdrawn in the previous calendar year and files a report on a form provided by the Director of ADWR by March 31 each year.
19. Allows a person who withdraws 10 or fewer acre-feet of groundwater from a non-exempt well, when filing the outlined report, to provide an estimate of the person's withdrawals.
20. Prohibits a person withdrawing groundwater from a non-exempt well for an irrigation use from withdrawing more than five acre-feet of groundwater per acre of land that the person irrigates per year.
21. Allows the Director of ADWR, if a person in a subsequent INA withdraws groundwater from a non-exempt well for an irrigation use withdraws more than five acre-feet of groundwater per acre of land that the person irrigated in the calendar year, to assess and collect a $150 penalty.
22. Allows a person who owns acres of land that can be legally irrigated in a subsequent INA to:
a) permanently retire those acres from irrigation and substitute, for those acres, the same number of acres in the same INA if the person demonstrates to the Director of ADWR's satisfaction that the substitution of acres will not lead to a net increase in groundwater withdrawals in the INA; or
b) construct a new non-exempt well for an irrigation use or a replacement non-exempt well in a new location for an irrigation use in the same INA if:
i) the location of the replacement well complies with rules adopted by the Director of ADWR for new wells; and
ii) the construction of the new non-exempt well or replacement non-exempt well in a new location will not lead to a net increase in groundwater withdrawals in the INA.
23. Requires the rules adopted
by the Director of ADWR governing the location of new wells and replacement
wells in new locations in AMAs, in order to prevent unreasonably increasing
damage to surrounding land or other water users from the concentration of
non-exempt wells in subsequent INAs, to apply to the new non-exempt wells and
replacement non-exempt wells in new locations in subsequent INAs, if the new
non-exempt well or the replacement
non-exempt well in a new location is for an irrigation use.
24. Stipulates that the statutorily prescribed requirement for each person withdrawing 10 or fewer acre-feet of groundwater per year from a non-exempt well for a non-irrigation use to estimate the quantity of water withdrawn only applies to the outlined persons in initial INAs, rather than all INAs.
25. Makes technical and conforming changes.
26. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Amendments Adopted by the House of Representatives
· Adopted the strike- everything amendment relating to a special election for the designation of an INA in the portion of the San Simon Valley Groundwater Subbasin located in Cochise County or Graham County.
House Action
FMAE 3/26/25 W/D
APPROP 3/31/25 DPA/SE 11-7-0-0
3rd Read 5/6/25 31-23-6
Prepared by Senate Research
May 7, 2025
SB/SN/slp