HB 2203 Arizona House · 57th Legislature - First Regular Session

historical water use; subsequent AMA

HB 2203 is a procedural bill that amends Arizona’s water code definitions (ARS §45-402) to clarify terms like "active management area," "grandfathered right," and "irrigation use." It directly affects agricultural users, water districts, and the Arizona Department of Water Resources by standardizing terminology for groundwater management under existing Active Management Areas. The bill does not change current water use rules or policies - it only updates definitions to ensure consistent application of Arizona’s groundwater regulations. The bill passed the legislature in April 2025 but was vetoed by the Governor on May 2, 2025, so it did not become law.

Bill status vetoed 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2025

House Passage

Apr 2025

Senate Passage

Apr 2025

Vetoed

May 2025

Introduced Jan 16, 2025 Vetoed May 2, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

House Engrossed Version → Senate Engrossed Version · 4 edits · Apr 9, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was amended to add a new section (45-465) that establishes detailed rules for determining grandfathered irrigation rights in active management areas, including how to calculate allowable groundwater use based on historical irrigation patterns. The bill also renumbered sections, moving the retroactivity provision from Section 7 to Section 8, and added a new statute section for application procedures.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include a new statutory section (45-465) that defines how irrigation grandfathered rights are determined, including specific calculations for water duty acres and irrigation acres based on historical usage patterns before 1980 or during the ten years preceding designation procedures.

SCOPE

Added new section 45-465 establishing detailed rules for calculating grandfathered irrigation rights, including methods to determine water duty acres and irrigation acres based on historical irrigation data.

REQUIREMENT

Modified the list of amended statutes to include section 45-465 in addition to the previously listed sections.

TIMELINE

Renumbered the retroactivity provision from Section 7 to Section 8, though the substantive retroactive date of August 29, 2022 remains unchanged.

DEFINITION

Added specific definitions for 'water duty acres' and 'irrigation acres' that determine how much groundwater can be legally used for irrigation based on historical usage patterns.

Floor votes · House Feb 12, 2025

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

May 2, 2025

Vetoed

Vetoed by Governor

executive

Apr 28, 2025

Lower · Passed

PASSED

lower

Apr 9, 2025

Upper · Passed

PASSED

upper

Apr 9, 2025

Upper · Passed

DPA

upper

Mar 4, 2025

Upper · Passed

upper

Feb 12, 2025

Lower · Passed

PASSED

lower

Jan 28, 2025

Lower · Passed

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors