HB2280 - Watersheds; beneficial use; instream flows

REFERENCE TITLE: watersheds; beneficial use; instream flows State of Arizona House of Representatives Fifty-seventh Legislature Second Regular Session 2026 HB 2280 Introduced by Representatives Travers: Stahl Hamilton AN ACT amending sections 17-231, 17-298, 45-101, 45-105, 45-151, 45-152.01 and 45-172, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to waters. (TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE) Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona: Section 1. Section 17-231, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read: START_STATUTE 17-231. General powers and duties of the commission A. The commission shall: 1. Adopt rules and establish services it deems necessary to carry out the provisions and purposes of this title. 2. Establish broad policies and long-range programs for the management, preservation and harvest of wildlife. 3. Establish hunting, trapping and fishing rules and prescribe the manner and methods that may be used in taking wildlife, but the commission shall not limit or restrict the magazine capacity of any authorized firearm. 4. Be responsible for the enforcement of laws for the protection of wildlife. 5. Provide for the assembling and distribution of information to the public relating to wildlife and activities of the department. 6. Prescribe rules for the expenditure, by or under the control of the director, of all funds arising from appropriation, licenses, gifts or other sources. 7. Exercise such powers and duties necessary to carry out fully the provisions of this title and in general exercise powers and duties that relate to adopting and carrying out policies of the department and control of its financial affairs. 8. Prescribe procedures for use of department personnel, facilities, equipment, supplies and other resources in assisting search or rescue operations on request of the director of the division of emergency management. 9. Cooperate with the Arizona-Mexico commission in the governor's office and with researchers at universities in this state to collect data and conduct projects in the United States and Mexico on issues that are within the scope of the department's duties and that relate to quality of life, trade and economic development in this state in a manner that will help the Arizona-Mexico commission to assess and enhance the economic competitiveness of this state and of the Arizona-Mexico region. B. The commission may: 1. Conduct investigations, inquiries or hearings in the performance of its powers and duties. 2. Establish game management units or refuges for the preservation and management of wildlife. 3. Construct and operate game farms, fish hatcheries, fishing lakes or other facilities for or relating to the preservation or propagation of wildlife. 4. Expend funds Spend monies to provide training in the safe handling and use of firearms and safe hunting practices. 5. Remove or permit allow to be removed from public or private waters fish which that hinder or prevent propagation of game or food fish and dispose of such fish in such manner as it may designate. 6. Purchase, sell or barter wildlife for the purpose of stocking public or private lands and waters and take at any time in any manner wildlife for research, propagation and restocking purposes or for use at a game farm or fish hatchery and declare wildlife salable when in the public interest or the interest of conservation. 7. Enter into agreements with the federal government, with other states or political subdivisions of the this state and with private organizations for the construction and operation of facilities and for management studies, measures or procedures for or relating to the preservation and propagation of wildlife and expend funds spend monies for carrying out such agreements. 8. Prescribe rules for the sale, trade, importation, exportation or possession of wildlife. 9. Expend Spend monies for the purpose of producing publications relating to wildlife and activities of the department for sale to the public and establish the price to be paid for annual subscriptions and single copies of such publications. All monies received from the sale of such publications shall be deposited in the game and fish publications revolving fund. 10. Contract with any person or entity to design and produce artwork on terms that, in the commission's judgment, will produce an original and valuable work of art relating to wildlife or wildlife habitat. 11. Sell or distribute the artwork authorized under paragraph 10 of this subsection on such terms and for such price as it deems acceptable. 12. Consider the adverse and beneficial short-term and long-term economic impacts on resource dependent communities, small businesses and the this state of Arizona , of policies and programs for the management, preservation and harvest of wildlife by holding a public hearing to receive and consider written comments and public testimony from interested persons. 13. Adopt rules relating to range operations at public shooting ranges operated by and under the jurisdiction of the commission, including the hours of operation, the fees for the use of the range, the regulation of groups and events, the operation of related range facilities, the type of firearms and ammunition that may be used at the range, the safe handling of firearms at the range, the required safety equipment for a person using the range, the sale of firearms, ammunition and shooting supplies at the range, and the authority of range officers to enforce these rules, to remove violators from the premises and to refuse entry for repeat violations. 14. Solicit and accept grants, gifts or donations of money or other property from any source, which may be used for any purpose consistent with this title. 15. acquire and lease surface water rights for watershed HEALTH uses and instream uses. For the purposes of this paragraph, "watershed Health uses" has the same meaning prescribed in section 45-101. C. The commission shall confer and coordinate with the director of water resources with respect to the commission's activities, plans and negotiations relating to water development and use, restoration projects under the restoration acts pursuant to chapter 4, article 1 of this title, where water development and use are involved, the abatement of pollution injurious to wildlife and in the formulation of fish and wildlife aspects of the director of water resources' plans to develop and utilize use water resources of the state and shall have jurisdiction over fish and wildlife resources and fish and wildlife activities of projects constructed for the state under or pursuant to the jurisdiction of the director of water resources. D. The commission may enter into one or more agreements with a multi-county water conservation district and other parties for participation in the lower Colorado river multispecies conservation program under section 48-3713.03, including the collection and payment of any monies authorized by law for the purposes of the lower Colorado river multispecies conservation program. END_STATUTE Sec. 2. Section 17-298, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read: START_STATUTE 17-298. Expenditures from fund; purpose and amounts; annual report A. Monies received pursuant to section 5-572 shall be spent as follows: 1. Five percent on public access, including maintenance and operation expenses. 2. Sixty percent on the identification, inventory, acquisition, protection and management, including maintenance and operations, of property with sensitive habitat , watershed health uses and instream uses . At least twenty percent of the monies available under this paragraph shall be spent to acquire property with sensitive habitat used by endangered, threatened and candidate species. Not more than twenty percent of the monies available under this paragraph may be spent on the operation and maintenance of the acquired property, including the acquired property's infrastructure. The commission may dispose of any lands acquired for use as habitat by an endangered, threatened or candidate species under this paragraph when the species no longer qualifies as an endangered, threatened or candidate species. The Arizona game and fish commission shall dispose of the land in a manner consistent with the preservation of the species of concern. The disposal may include conservation easements and fee simple transfers with associated instruments of protection. The commission shall follow the guidelines established pursuant to section 37-803 relating to the disposition of real property by a state agency. In addition, disposal shall include a written agreement between the commission and the purchaser requiring the purchaser to incorporate management actions to ensure proper maintenance of the species of concern. Management actions may include maintenance of habitat, selective control of nonnative species, maintenance of genetic viability, monitoring of populations and habitat, coordinating conservation activities, funding conservation actions and assessing conservation progress. For the purposes of this paragraph, "watershed Health uses" has the same meaning prescribed in section 45-101. 3. Fifteen percent on habitat evaluation or habitat protection. 4. Fifteen percent on urban wildlife and urban wildlife habitat programs. 5. Five percent on environmental education. B. All monies earned as interest on monies received pursuant to section 5-572 shall be spent only in the percentages and for the purposes described in subsection A of this section or for costs of administering the Arizona game and fish commission heritage fund in such amounts as determined by the Arizona game and fish commission. C. On or before December 31, the commission shall submit its annual report to the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives and the chairmen of the senate and house of representatives committees on natural resources and agriculture, or their successor committees, and shall provide a copy of this report to the secretary of state. The annual report shall include information on: 1. The amount of monies spent or encumbered in the fund during the preceding fiscal year and a summary of the projects, activities and expenditures relating to: (a) Property acquisition, operation and maintenance. (b) Identification, inventory, protection and management of sensitive habitat. (c) Habitat evaluation and protection. (d) Urban wildlife. (e) Environmental education. (f) Public access. 2. The number and location of parcels of property acquired during the preceding fiscal year. 3. For personal and real properties acquired with fund monies during the preceding fiscal year, the amount of property tax revenue paid to each taxing jurisdiction during the last full tax year prior to acquisition. 4. The amount of money spent from the fund during the preceding fiscal year for employee personal services. 5. The number of full-time employees employed in the preceding fiscal year in connection with property acquisition, including survey, appraisal and other related activities. 6. The total number of full-time employees employed in the preceding fiscal year for the programs listed in subsection A of this section. 7. A list of the grants awarded during the preceding fiscal year, including information on the recipients, purposes and amounts. END_STATUTE Sec. 3. Section 45-101, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read: START_STATUTE 45-101. Definitions In this title, unless the context otherwise requires: 1. "Appropriator" means the person or persons initiating or perfecting the right to use appropriable water based on state law, or the person's successor or successors in interest. 2. "Department" means the department of water resources. 3. "Director" means the director of water resources, who is also the director of the department. 4. "Effluent" means water that has been collected in a sanitary sewer for subsequent treatment in a facility that is regulated pursuant to title 49, chapter 2. Such water remains effluent until it acquires the characteristics of groundwater or surface water. 5. "Groundwater" means water under the surface of the earth regardless of the geologic structure in which it is standing or moving. Groundwater does not include water flowing in underground streams with ascertainable beds and banks. 6. "Interstate stream" means any stream constituting or flowing along the exterior boundaries of this state, and any tributary originating in another state or foreign country and flowing into or through this state. 7. "Riparian area" means a geographically delineated area with distinct resource values, that is characterized by deep-rooted plant species that depend on having roots in the water table or its capillary zone and that occurs within or adjacent to a natural perennial or intermittent stream channel or within or adjacent to a lake, pond or marsh bed maintained primarily by natural water sources. Riparian area does not include areas in or adjacent to ephemeral stream channels, artificially created stockponds, man-made storage reservoirs constructed primarily for conservation or regulatory storage, municipal and industrial ponds or man-made water transportation, distribution, off-stream storage and collection systems. 8. "Sanitary sewer" means any pipe or other enclosed conduit that carries, among other substances, any water-carried wastes from the human body from residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants or institutions. 9. "Surface water" means the waters of all sources, flowing in streams, canyons, ravines or other natural channels, or in definite underground channels, whether perennial or intermittent, floodwater, wastewater or surplus water, and of lakes, ponds and springs on the surface. For the purposes of administering this title, surface water is deemed to include central Arizona project water. 10. "Watershed health uses" means water that is conserved in a natural watercourse and not otherwise used and that supports the attributes of watershed health for an individual watershed as prescribed in the report required by section 45-105, subsection B. END_STATUTE Sec. 4. Section 45-105, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read: START_STATUTE 45-105. Powers and duties of director A. The director may: 1. Formulate plans and develop programs for the practical and economical development, management, conservation and use of surface water, groundwater and the watersheds in this state, including the management of water quantity and quality. 2. Investigate works, plans or proposals pertaining to surface water and groundwater, including management of watersheds, and acquire, preserve, publish and disseminate related information the director deems advisable. 3. Collect and investigate information on and prepare and devise means and plans for the development, conservation and use of al [Text truncated for display. Full text available on LegiScan.]