Phew! Some of what finally got done this Legislative session

Arizona House of Representatives

Here is the last Legislative Update from Sandy Bahr of the Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club. As Sandy mentioned, she will be sending out fewer legislative reports since the session is in recess. We may still have some petitions from the city or Calls to Action from other environmental groups. So keep checking.

Thanks for all your good advocacy this last session! 

Learning about the issues helps us be better advocates. Check out Dan's presentation on A Story of Water in the Desert.

YouTube : https://youtu.be/NssC1fzs4jk

Sandy wrote: It's over! Finally, the 2025 Legislative Session has come to close as the House and Senate finally agreed on a budget that the Governor could sign. They adjourned sine die at 1:20 PM today (June 27, 2025). The budget agreement only happened after the House insisted on passing two budgets that the Governor would veto, and she did. In doing so, she set a new veto record of 169 vetoes -- so far. She could still veto a few more bills. As far as the budget goes, the version that was signed is okay on environmental protection. It still does not include adequate funding for important programs, but there are no major poison pills and there is $9 million for the Water Quality Fee Fund for helping to address impaired waters and also to implement new water quality standards in permits. There are also two new employees funded for implementing the aquifer water quality standards. There is $1 million for the Arizona State Parks Heritage Fund -- it should get $10 million, but last year got nothing. The Water Quality Assurance Revolving Fund, our state Superfund program, got $15 million, and there is $2 million for clean up of the Iron King Mine smelter near Humboldt. The Department of Water Resources got six additional employees for the assured water supply program and other groundwater issues. There was an attempt to refer some additional measures to the ballot over the last couple of days, but as the Republican majority in the House was missing four of its members, they did not have the votes to refer them. Look for a bunch next year, however, including measures to impede voting and make ballot measures more difficult. As noted last week,SCR1004 tax prohibition; vehicle mileage; monitoring  (Hoffman: Chaplik, Keshel) passed and will be on the 2026 ballot. It would prohibit the state and local government from taking important actions to reduce vehicle miles traveled. Travel reduction is a component of our state implementation plans to improve air quality. It also prohibits any kind of fee based on vehicle miles traveled. Fees such as these have been proposed as an alternative to gas taxes to pay for roads. SB1611 physical availability exemption credit; groundwater (Shope: Petersen) passed in the House 35-20-5 on Monday and was transmitted to the Governor. She will sign it as her staff was engaged in the negotiations. This bill is also known as the ag to urban bill because it promotes development on agricultural lands, was significantly improved and could result in some groundwater savings. We hope that is the case, but we remain concerned about the bill promoting more urban sprawl rather than encouraging more sustainable development and that it significantly increases the replenishment obligation of the Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District (CAGRD). The CAGRD was designed to utilize excess Central Arizona Project (CAP) water, but there is no excess CAP water any longer, so what will be used for replenishment? It also reduces the replenishment reserve requirement from 100 years to 20 years for the CAGRD. Karen Peters, the nominee for the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality director, had her confirmation hearing on Monday, but the full Senate failed to act on this nomination. We have heard that they believe she can continue to serve as was re-nominated February. We shall see what the Senate does on that. The Senate failed to confirm three appointees to the Arizona Game and Fish Commission Appointment Recommendation Board as well, so they will not be able to serve beyond August. In the good news category, a whole slew of bad bills that remained -- one on wind energy siting, one on sewage sludge application, and several bad voting bills -- did not advance. Next Friday is the July 4th holiday, so we will not be sending out an update. Look for one later in July with the report card on the legislature. We will stop sending updates weekly until the 2026 session starts, but will send periodic updates or actions you can take on this list. Bills passed and signed this session will become law on September 26, 2025.

To see the bills we tracked this session, please go here.

Oppose Project Blue - the Water Thirsty, Energy Hog Data Center

But Project Blue is a LARGE data center!

Project Blue is a secretive development proposed by a venture capital firm to build the largest data center complex in the state near the Pima County Fairgrounds to be occupied by an as yet unnamed customer.

There have been a number of promises made to Pima County and the City of Tucson that were convincing enough that the Pima County Board of Supervisors narrowly approved the project this week (though the swing vote, Supervisor Matt Heinz, has now changed his mind after the promise that the data center wouldn't increase electricity costs was broken by TEP on the same day the Supervisors voted. It would increase Tucson electric bills by 14%!) The project still needs City of Tucson Mayor and Council approval for the water component of the project, so it can still be stopped.

The developer promises no environmental impact because they are going to fund an expansion of reclaimed water service to the area of the project, but that ignores the fact that reclaimed water is being considered as a potential future potable water source if water supplies continue to dwindle and a portion of the reclaimed water is currently being used for riparian environment restoration along the Santa Cruz River. Adding a huge water user to Tucson Water's service area is bound to impact future water security. The other promises from the developers to fund projects that will increase the water supply in Tucson are assuming that it's possible to create water by spending enough money. You can't drink cash!

Reach out to your City Councilmember and demand that they vote against extending water service to this ill-conceived project. A theoretical gain in economic prosperity is not worth the risk of future water shortages.

SIGN THIS PETITION:

https://www.change.org/p/tell-tucson-city-council-to-stop-project-blue-ai-center-in-tucson?signed=true

Tucson Clean and Beautiful suggests these actions: 

Discover the rapid rise of U.S. data centers, with over $1 trillion invested, and see how this growth affects our environment and communities. Learn the stories behind the impact, explore ways you can get involved, and make your voice heard! We encourage everyone to do their research, stay engaged, and advocate for responsible tech development. 🤖🏜️

1. Identify Your Ward Councilmember: Find out who represents your neighborhood. Addressing your concerns directly to them can be especially impactful.

2. Attend Public Meetings: Keep an eye on scheduled public hearings, city council meetings, or planning hearings related to the project. Presenting your concerns in person or submitting written comments can make a difference.

3. Write Letters or Emails: Compose clear, respectful messages outlining your opposition or concerns about the development. Highlight how it might affect your community, environment, or local resources.

4. Engage with Planning & Development Services: Contact the City of Tucson department for information on review processes, comment periods, and upcoming hearings.

5. Coordinate with Others: Consider organizing or joining local groups or coalitions. Collective voices often carry more weight and demonstrate broad community interest.

6. Contact Pima County Officials: Community members in Tucson can reach out to Pima County officials to express their concerns and oppose the construction of the new data center.

7. Stay Informed on Utility Regulations: If power consumption or utility impacts concern you, reaching out to the Arizona Corporation Commission can provide additional avenues for advocacy. Visit at www.azcc.gov

Remember, active and informed participation helps shape outcomes that reflect your community’s needs! And don’t forget to utilize your platform!

Last Legislative Update of this Session? And some final actions...

There are a few actions at the end of this post (for those of you who haven't already acted on them), but generally this is an update on the Arizona Legislature from Sandy Bahr of the Sierra Club wrapping things up as the session comes to a close. (Dan and I added a few sentences elaborating on and clarifying SB 1611*.) 

Please, look out for a Call to Action on Project Blue, the proposed data center on the south side that would use a lot of water and energy. 

Sandy writes, "I am sorry I did not get you all an update last week. I was out of office enjoying a No Kings Day protest with my sister, plus there was not much to report until very late Friday night. I will catch you up now, however." So last week, the Arizona House passed a budget that had no support from the Governor or most Senate Republicans, so it was basically a nonstarter. This week, and late into the night on Thursday night, the Arizona Senate passed a bipartisan budget that has the Governor's support. The House was then supposed to begin action on that budget, but instead, they adjourned and left until Monday. The Senate then adjourned sine die, meaning they are not planning to come back at all this session. Read more about that here. So where does that leave us? It is unclear. The House could come back Monday and just pass the Senate budget and then adjourn. It seems unlikely, however. They could try to convince the Senate to reconsider its adjournment action and come back and work on further amending the budget. The House could stall and not pass a budget before the end of the fiscal year, which would then result in a partial shutdown of the state government. Sigh. What a mess. As far as the budget goes, the version upon which the Senate and Governor agreed is not bad, overall, on environmental protection. It still does not include adequate funding for important programs, but there are no major poison pills and there is $9 million for the Water Quality Fee Fund for helping to address impaired waters and also to implement new water quality standards in permits. There is also $1 million for the Arizona State Parks Heritage Fund -- it should get $10 million, but last year got nothing. The Water Quality Assurance Revolving Fund, our state Superfund program, got $15 million, and there is $2 million for clean up of the Iron King Mine smelter near Humboldt. This budget passed with bipartisan support but the self-proclaimed "Freedom Caucus" Republicans are super ticked off, which is why we find ourselves with no state budget and the clock ticking. One positive thing the Senate did yesterday was to vote down HCR2013 early ballots; deadlines; foreign money, which would have referred a measure to the ballot that imposed stricter early voting deadlines and required Maricopa and Pima voters to confirm their addresses every election cycle. It was defeated 11-18-1. There are still a number of other bad voting measures that they could refer however, if the Senate comes back. SB1611 physical availability exemption credit; groundwater (Shope: Petersen), also known as the ag to urban bill because it promotes development on agricultural lands, was significantly improved and could result in some groundwater savings. For example, the revised bill sets limits on how much water a development can withdraw based on a groundwater threshold and it limits the use of water-thirsty landscaping and decorative features like lakes and waterfalls. We remain concerned about the bill promoting more urban sprawl rather than encouraging more sustainable development and that it significantly increases the replenishment obligation of the Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District (CAGRD). The CAGRD was designed to utilize excess Central Arizona Project (CAP) water, but there is no excess CAP water any longer, so what will be used for replenishment? It also reduces the replenishment reserve requirement for the CAGRD. Additionally, there appear to be some potential loopholes in the 36 page long bill. It will likely be heard in the House next week.* On the bad news front, the House put a referendum on the ballot for 2026 for a proposed constitutional amendment. SCR1004 was substituted for HCR2035 tax prohibition; vehicle mileage; monitoring and passed with only Republican votes. If passed by voters, it would prohibit the state and local government from taking important actions to reduce vehicle miles traveled. Travel reduction is a component of our state implementation plans to improve air quality and removing those provisions would mean seeking approval and replacing those reductions with some other measure, thus shifting more of the burden for reducing pollution to other entities. It also prohibits any kind of fee based on vehicle miles traveled. Fees such as these have been proposed as an alternative to gas taxes to pay for roads. Finally, a constitutional amendment would also take away flexibility from the legislature itself for future measures to fund roads. Watch for this on your ballot in 2026. There are still a few other bills outstanding that we are concerned about, including a harmful wind energy bill, water bills, and several referrals. Reach out to your representatives about these bills, if you haven't already.  Find out who your Representative is, first find your district by using this app:  https://irc-az.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/lookup/index.html?appid=424810a4667049388ef6df4f0c73098b Use that district to find your Rep and their contact info. here:  https://www.azleg.gov/MemberRoster/ SB1150 NOW: wind farms; construction; policies; procedures  (Gowan) includes numerous new mandates for wind energy generation facilities that will erect significant roadblocks to siting wind projects. The mandates include requiring financial surety and prohibitions on the construction of wind projects within six miles of a property zoned residential, yet you can plop down a large gas plant – something that emits harmful pollutants – right next to a residential neighborhood. Thoughtful siting criteria are fine, but this bill is not about that. It is about stopping wind farms. It still awaits a final passage vote in the Senate. SB1520 Now: Rural Water (Dunn) establishes an extremely weak system for groundwater "management" in a limited number of areas in rural Arizona. It is not what is needed to stabilize aquifers to limit land subsidence, earth fissures, and the continued decline of water levels, which are drying up wells in some areas. Discussions have broken down on this bill, so the outlook is grim for rural water,  but legislators still may send it up for a veto.  There are quite a few referrals that could still move forward, but we have heard they plan to wait until next session for most of them. Here are two of them that could advance. HCR2025 constitutional amendments; sixty percent vote (Kolodin: Kupper, Marshall) refers a proposed constitutional amendment to the ballot that would require sixty percent approval for any future constitutional amendment, thus raising the bar significantly for future amendments. Why should only 40% of voters be allowed to tell 60% of the state what they can and can’t do? This bill passed out of the House and could be brought to the Senate Floor at any time. HCR2057 initiatives; referendums; signature requirement; counties (Keshel) refers a proposed constitutional amendment to the ballot that requires a proportionate number of signatures from each county for a statewide initiatives, constitutional amendments, and referenda. It passed in the House as well and could come to the floor of the Senate at any time as well.

How does AZ place on Best States for Environmental Protection?

With over half of Americans greatly worried about contamination of our waterways and soil, the non-profit organization SmileHub today released new reports on the Best Charities for Environmental Protection and the Best States for Environmental Protection in 2025.

The U.S. produces over 292 million tons of waste per year, or over 4.9 pounds per person per day, according to the latest data from the Environmental Protection Agency. Additionally, over 50% of Americans worry a great deal about pollution of water sources and the contamination of soil and water by toxic waste. Pollution and waste are issues across the U.S., but some states work harder than others to limit their impact.

To highlight states that understand nature’s importance and the ones that need to improve, SmileHub compared the 50 states across 25 key metrics. The data set ranges from the number of environmental charities per capita to industrial toxins per square mile of land area to climate change vulnerability.

Best States		Worst States
1. California		41. Tennessee
2. Washington		42. Iowa
3. New York		43. Kansas
4. Vermont		44. Wyoming
5. Maryland		45. Kentucky
6. Hawaii		46. North Dakota
7. Massachusetts		47. Alabama
8. New Jersey		48. Mississippi
9. Oregon		49. West Virginia
10. Virginia		50. Louisiana

*Arizona landed 23rd

Key Stats

• California has the highest number of environmental protection charities per capita – 9.9 times higher than in Oklahoma, which has the lowest number.
• New York has the highest share of workers that use green transportation – 3 times higher than in Mississippi, which has the lowest share.
• South Dakota has the highest share of renewable energy consumption – 18.3 times higher than Delaware, which has the lowest share.
• Hawaii is one of the states with the highest soil quality – 27 times higher than New Mexico, which has the lowest soil quality.

JANA'S NOTE: Despite having an abundance of sun, we didn't even place on highest share of renewable energy consumption! What is keeping us from that? 

The majority at our state legislature pushes through bad bills that prohibit the advancement of clean energy in favor of fossil fuels.  They have also sponsored several bills that prohibit water conservation and even allowed landowners to dump toxins in dry washes on their property. 

To view the full report and your state’s rank, please visit: 
https://smilehub.org/blog/best-states-for-environmental-protection/123

Update on bills that impact water & environment at AZ Legislature

How close should hunting be allowed by your property?

The Arizona Senate came back for one day this week and passed a few bills, plus defeated SB1053 with a vote of 14-14-2. SB1053 wildlife; firearms discharge; structures; distance (Rogers: Gillette) would have allowed shotguns and archery equipment -- bows and such -- to be discharged for hunting wildlife within one-fourth mile, but outside one-eighth mile, of a residence without permission of the property owner. Limiting the use of these weapons and requiring permission is a private property rights issue, a public safety issue, and is also important for protecting domestic animals. There was no motion for reconsideration, but they could still do that. The Senate also confirmed Robyn Sahid as State Land Commissioner, one of the few agency heads to be confirmed this year. The Governor signed HB2753 groundwater replenishment; Pinal AMA (Martinez: Lopez). While it was improved in the Senate, it is still a bill that is built upon the house of cards that is the Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District -- there is no excess Colorado River water for replenishment. This bill specifically applies to the Pinal Active Management Area, allowing a municipal provider to assume replenishment obligations for any member lands when they apply for an assured water supply designation. Replenishment with what exactly? This is more smoke and mirrors when it comes to assured water supply.  The Arizona House will be back on June 4th. The Senate will be back with a 48-hour notice, maybe on June 4th as well. They seem to have finally started speaking about the budget.

SB1150 NOW: wind farms; construction; policies; procedures  (Gowan) includes numerous new mandates for wind energy generation facilities that will erect significant roadblocks to siting wind projects. The mandates include requiring financial surety and prohibitions on the construction of wind projects within six miles of a property zoned residential, yet you can plop down a large gas plant – something that emits harmful pollutants – right next to a residential neighborhood. Thoughtful siting criteria are fine, but this bill is not about that. It is about stopping wind farms. It still awaits a final passage vote in the Senate. There are still a few bad water bills out there, including SB1520 Now: Rural Water (Dunn) establishes an extremely weak system for groundwater "management" in a limited number of areas in rural Arizona. It is not what is needed to stabilize aquifers to limit land subsidence, earth fissures, and the continued decline of water levels, which are drying up wells in some areas. Discussions have broken down on this bill, so the outlook is grim for rural water, but legislators still may send it up for a veto. SB1611 physical availability exemption credit; groundwater (Shope: Petersen) is a bill  to accommodate development where water is no longer physically available, according to ADWR modeling. The provision allows a landowner who has an irrigation grandfathered right in an active management area to retire the land from irrigation, but retain a physical availability credit to non-irrigation use of the land. This specifically gets around assured water supply requirements for subdivisions in active management areas (AMA) and allows continued groundwater mining. Talks are continuing on this and it is likely some version of it will advance. To see the bills the Sierra Club is tracking, please go here.

Update on some bad bills at the AZ Legislature

Photo by Mark Coryell 

- by Sandy Bahr, Grand Canyon Chapter, Sierra Club The Arizona House of Representatives came back for one day and passed a handful of bills, including SB1053. SB1053 wildlife; firearms discharge; structures; distance (Rogers: Gillette) says that shotguns and archery equipment -- bows and such -- can be discharged for hunting wildlife within one-fourth mile, but outside one-eighth mile, of a residence without permission of the property owner. This weakens the protections for shooting near residences. Anyone hunting that close to a residence should definitely have to get permission from the homeowner for the discharge of these and other weapons. Limiting the use of these weapons and requiring permission is a private property rights issue, a public safety issue, and is also important for protecting domestic animals. This goes back to the Senate for final consideration. The House also passed HB2753 groundwater replenishment; Pinal AMA (Martinez: Lopez) was improved in the Senate, but is still a bill that is built upon the house of cards that is the Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District -- there is no excess Colorado River water for replenishment. This bill specifically applies to the Pinal Active Management Area, allowing a municipal provider to assume replenishment obligations for any member lands when they apply for an assured water supply designation. Replenishment with what exactly? This is more smoke and mirrors when it comes to assured water supply. This got transmitted to the Governor and it looks like she may have already signed it.  The Arizona Senate was still on "Spring Break" and will be back next Tuesday. So far, neither house seems to have a budget package to advance, so they are just killing time. We shall see if the Senate decides to confirm any additional gubernatorial appointees this coming week. There are still several who have not had hearings.  As we shared last week, Governor Hobbs signed the worst bill this session when it comes to climate and clean energy, handing the utilities a huge gift and virtually assuring that some coal plants will continue spewing pollution into our air, depleting water, and harming the climate longer. Quite sadly, it is ratepayers who will have to foot the bill for it too. Hobbs signed HB2679 power; public utilities; UCC; securities  (Griffin), a bill that will help advance the Trump pro coal agenda, plus she sent a message that it is okay to do major legislation without any stakeholder engagement as long as you are a major utility.  If you did not already do so, we encourage you to call the Governor and tell her you are extremely disappointed that she signed HB2679! You can call 602-542-4331 and leave a message for her. If you have time, you might also consider sending her a message, using her online form. On the heels of this bill signing, both Arizona Public Service and Tucson Electric Power announced that they will be seeking rate increases this year too. It is a good time to be a monopoly utility as at this point they are virtually unregulated.

SB1150 NOW: wind farms; construction; policies; procedures  (Gowan) includes numerous new mandates for wind energy generation facilities that will erect significant roadblocks to siting wind projects. The mandates include requiring financial surety and prohibitions on the construction of wind projects within six miles of a property zoned residential, yet you can plop down a large gas plant – something that emits harmful pollutants – right next to a residential neighborhood. Thoughtful siting criteria are fine, but this bill is not about that. It is about stopping wind farms. It still awaits a final passage vote in the Senate. There are still a few bad water bills out there, including SB1520 Now: Rural Water (Dunn) establishes an extremely weak system for groundwater "management" in a limited number of areas in rural Arizona. It is not what is needed to stabilize aquifers to limit land subsidence, earth fissures, and the continued decline of water levels, which are drying up wells in some areas. Discussions have broken down on this bill, so the outlook is grim for rural water, but legislators still may send it up for a veto. SB1611 physical availability exemption credit; groundwater (Shope: Petersen) is a bill  to accommodate development where water is no longer physically available, according to ADWR modeling. The provision allows a landowner who has an irrigation grandfathered right in an active management area to retire the land from irrigation, but retain a physical availability credit to non-irrigation use of the land. This specifically gets around assured water supply requirements for subdivisions in active management areas (AMA) and allows continued groundwater mining. Talks are continuing on this and it is likely some version of it will advance. To see the bills we are tracking, please go here.

National Call-In Day to Sink the Reconciliation Bill, May 20th

Right now, Trump and Republicans in Congress are attempting to sell off our clean air, water, and future to make corporate polluters even richer. The Republican plan is to enact trillions of dollars in tax breaks for greedy billionaires like Elon Musk, who bought access to Trump.

Even though Republicans control Congress, the party is deeply divided on many of the worst cuts, especially to clean energy, health care and education. They’re also not in agreement on whether or not to sell off our public lands to pay for these giant tax giveaways. That's why they're planning to use a scheme that allows legislation to pass with a simple majority of votes.

Republican infighting means we have a real chance of stopping the worst cuts to environmental protections and other programs that help millions of hard working Americans. But only if we make enough noise and take action! The time to stop the GOP’s mega budget bill is now.

Here are some of the threats to our health, climate, safety, and public lands:

 Americans nationwide could lose access to popular clean energy programs that save families money on electricity costs, make our daily life safer and healthier, and create good-paying jobs. Over 60,000 clean energy jobs have already been threatened or lost since Trump's election.

 Millions of acres of our public lands and coastal waters, which belong to everyone -- including the Arctic Refuge -- could be sold off to the highest bidders, closed down, and destroyed. Republicans are working to give away our country’s mountains, valleys, deserts, rivers, lakes, and forests to billionaires and corporate polluters. This could lead to firing more park staff and stewards of our most treasured lands.

 Communities will be drinking lead-contaminated water because lead pipes aren't being replaced. People will be exposed to toxic and hazardous waste because the government is no longer cleaning it up. The air we breathe and the water we drink will be less safe for all Americans if Trump and Congress get their way in rolling back clean air and water protections and enforcement.

 Communities won't get the help they need to recover from wildfire and extreme weather if they cut funding for critical disaster relief programs. This will place even more of the burden of rising costs directly onto working families.

 Millions of Americans could lose their healthcare or face medical debt if hundreds of billions of dollars are slashed from Medicaid and Medicare. People who are struggling to feed their families could be thrown off of SNAP. 

Here are some actions you can take:

 Tell your U.S. House Representative why protecting environmental and public health programs matters to you by calling 1-844-672-5067.

If you live in CD 6, please call the office of Rep. Ciscomani (who is on the fence about the bill) at (520) 881-3588 and urge him to vote "No."

SAMPLE SCRIPT 

Hi, my name is [NAME] and I’m a constituent of [REPRESENTATIVE]’s in Tucson, Arizona. (They may ask you to confirm with your address).

 

I am calling because I want to urge Representative [NAME] to vote NO on the reconciliation bill that will soon head to the House floor. 

It is critical that this bill does not pass. This is especially important to me because [insert your preferred messaging/aspect of the bill you want to highlight and any personal connection to the issue. Perhaps you're concerned with the Clean Energy Tax Cuts. If in doubt, mention that you don’t want to see people in your community kicked off of Medicaid or SNAP in order to pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans].

 Demand your U.S. House Representative act to stop this bill by sending a message here.

 Share on social media or by email to educate friends and family about what's happening and encourage them to fight back!

May 22, 2025 UPDATE:  Our so-called "Representative" Juan Ciscomani cast the tie-breaking vote. 

More information:

Tax Cuts and Medicaid: Ciscomani Defends Budget Vote