HB 2268 Arizona House · 57th Legislature - Second Regular Session

state trust land; subleases; approval

HB 2268 modifies Arizona's state trust land leasing rules, primarily affecting ranchers and land users who lease or sublease state trust lands for grazing. It requires written permission from the state land department for any sublease and mandates that applicants certify application details under penalty of perjury. The bill also imposes a 25% surcharge on grazing subleases, calculated based on the annual rental rate and the number of animal unit months grazed. These changes apply specifically to grazing leases under Arizona Revised Statutes sections 37-281 and 37-283.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

House Passage

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 20, 2026 Last action Mar 9, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Version → House Engrossed Version (02/24/2026) · 3 edits · Feb 24, 2026

MINOR

The bill was reorganized to add a new section prohibiting the transfer of commercial leases for wind or solar farms on state land. It also updated existing lease rules to clarify language and added specific conditions requiring written approval from the grazing lessee, the county, and the Arizona Corporation Commission before a right-of-way can be issued for a wind farm or turbine on grazing land.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded by adding a new prohibition on transferring wind and solar commercial leases, while the applicability of right-of-way rules was narrowed to require specific multi-party approvals for wind projects on grazing land.

REQUIREMENT

Added a new section (37-111) that prohibits a person from transferring or conveying their interest in a commercial lease or right-of-way for a wind farm or solar farm on state lands.

Modified Section 37-281 to add new conditions requiring written approval from the grazing lessee, the county board of supervisors, and the Arizona Corporation Commission before a right-of-way can be issued for a wind farm or turbine on grazing land.

TECHNICAL

Corrected inconsistent capitalization and phrasing in the original text (e.g., changing 'lease OR SUBLEASE' to 'lease or sublease' and 'his THE APPLICANT'S' to 'his the applicant's') to improve clarity and consistency.

Floor votes · House Feb 24, 2026

How they voted

32–24

Passed · 4 other

Total votes 60

Feb 24, 2026

D Democratic27

24 Nay 3

88% Nay

R Republican33

32 Yea 1

96% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Feb 24, 2026

Lower · Passed

PASSED

lower

Feb 23, 2026

Lower · Passed

DPA

lower

Feb 12, 2026

Lower · Passed

DPA

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors