stock watering; active management areas
This bill clarifies groundwater rights for domestic use and livestock watering within Arizona's active management areas. It grants existing landowners with "irrigation grandfathered rights" the right to withdraw up to 10 acre-feet annually from their wells for domestic purposes (household use) or stock watering (livestock), provided the use existed on the same land as of June 12, 1980 - the date the active management area was designated. If withdrawals are separately measured with an approved device, they are exempt from conservation rules; otherwise, they count toward irrigation quotas. The right is tied to the irrigation right and ends if the irrigation right is retired or sold for non-irrigation use.
Bill status
passed
3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Feb 2026
House Passage
Governor
Introduced Jan 21, 2026
Last action Mar 24, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
Introduced Version
→
Senate Engrossed Version (02/24/2026)
·
2 edits
·
Feb 24, 2026
MINOR
The bill was reformatted from an introduced draft to a Senate-approved version, updating the title and header information. The substantive legal text regarding groundwater rights for stock watering remains identical, with only minor capitalization adjustments to specific terms like 'stock watering' and the date of the active management area designation.
Scope change
No change in the scope or applicability of the law; the bill covers the same groundwater rights for stock watering in active management areas.
TECHNICAL
The bill's title and header metadata were updated to reflect the Senate Engrossed Version status and session details.
Capitalization was standardized in the legal text, changing instances of 'stock watering' and the date phrase to all uppercase for consistency.
Floor votes · Senate Feb 24, 2026
How they voted
27–0
Passed · 3 other
Total votes 30
Feb 24, 2026
D
Democratic13
84% Yea
R
Republican17
94% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
9
Key actions
4
Committee
1
Amendments
2
Mar 24, 2026
Lower · Passed
DP
lower
Feb 24, 2026
Upper · Passed
PASSED
upper
Feb 24, 2026
Upper · Passed
DPA
upper
Feb 3, 2026
Upper · Passed
DPA
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Tim Dunn
RRepublican
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