Bill > HB2089

This bill amends Arizona's existing law regarding the creation and potential removal of Active Management Areas (AMAs), which are specific groundwater basins subject to special water management regulations. The bill establishes a new process allowing residents to not only create a subsequent AMA through a voter petition (requiring signatures from 10% of registered voters in the proposed area), but also to potentially remove the AMA designation after ten years. If 10% of registered voters in an existing subsequent AMA file a petition to remove the designation, the state's water director must review the groundwater conditions within 60 days and either declare the AMA still necessary (canceling the removal election) or determine the designation is no longer needed, which would allow an election to proceed. The bill details specific procedural requirements for filing petitions, verifying voter residency, conducting elections, and handling situations where an AMA crosses multiple county boundaries. The goal appears to be providing local communities more direct input into water management area designations, with a built-in mechanism for periodic reassessment of whether an AMA continues to serve its original purpose.

Agriculture and Natural Resources

https://apps.azleg.gov/BillStatus/BillOverview/81762