HB 2753: groundwater replenishment; Pinal AMA - Arizona

Senate Engrossed Version → Chaptered Version · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill updates the official title and chapter number of the legislation to reflect its final status after being signed into law. It also clarifies the timeline for groundwater replenishment by removing a specific 'three-year' deadline, allowing districts more flexibility to meet obligations. Additionally, the text was formatted to align with standard statutory language for the Arizona Revised Statutes.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on groundwater replenishment obligations, but the applicability of the strict three-year completion deadline was removed.

TIMELINE

Removed the requirement that groundwater replenishment must be completed within three full calendar years after the obligation is incurred.

SCOPE

Changed the document header from 'Senate Engrossed Version' to 'Chaptered Version' and updated the chapter number to 216.

TECHNICAL

Added the Governor's approval date and Secretary of State filing date to the end of the text.

House Engrossed Version → Senate Engrossed Version · 4 edits · May 7, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was revised to remove all references to section 45-576, which governed certificates of assured water supply for subdivided lands, and to streamline the bill to focus solely on amendments to section 48-3771 regarding groundwater replenishment obligations. This change eliminates the requirement for developers to obtain water supply certificates before subdividing land, likely to simplify the approval process and reduce regulatory burdens on land development.

Scope change

The bill's scope was significantly narrowed by removing the entire section 45-576, which previously regulated water supply certificates for subdivided lands in active management areas. The remaining text focuses exclusively on groundwater replenishment obligations under section 48-3771.

REQUIREMENT

All provisions requiring developers to obtain a certificate of assured water supply from the director before offering subdivided lands for sale or lease were removed.

ELIGIBILITY

Rules for designating cities, towns, and private water companies as having an assured water supply were deleted, eliminating the certification process for water providers.

TIMELINE

Multiple deadlines for reports and rule adoption (including dates in 1997, 1998, 2004, 2005, 2008, and 2023) were removed as the associated section was deleted.

TECHNICAL

Minor formatting changes were made to the header, changing the version from 'House Engrossed' to 'Senate Engrossed' and consolidating the bill's focus to a single section amendment.

Introduced Version → House Engrossed Version · 6 edits · May 7, 2025

MODERATE

This bill reorganizes and clarifies Arizona's groundwater replenishment laws by updating the official title and amending two key statutes (ARS 45-576 and 48-3771). The changes primarily involve formatting improvements, clarifying language around municipal provider obligations, and adding new subsections to ensure municipal providers properly assume replenishment obligations from member lands over time.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on groundwater replenishment in active management areas, particularly in the Phoenix and Pinal areas, but clarifies the relationship between municipal providers and member lands.

TECHNICAL

Removed introductory text and formatting inconsistencies from the original introduced version to create a clean engrossed version.

REQUIREMENT

Added new subsection J to ARS 48-3771 requiring municipal providers to cease submitting reports to the district once they have fully assumed groundwater deliveries from member lands.

Added new subsection K to ARS 48-3771 clarifying how extinguishment credits and groundwater allowances can be used when municipal providers assume parcel replenishment obligations.

Added new subsection L to ARS 48-3771 clarifying that owners of newly subdivided lands cannot be required to pay for water sources to reduce replenishment obligations incurred by the municipal provider for other lands.

Changed capitalization in ARS 45-576 subsection M to standard text format for consistency.

Corrected capitalization in ARS 48-3771 subsection F to change 'PINAL' to 'pinal' for consistency.

groundwater replenishment; Pinal AMA

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