SB 1287 Arizona Senate · 57th Legislature - Second Regular Session

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

270
Passed · 3 other
Total votes 30
Feb 24, 2026
D Democratic13
11 Yea 2
84% Yea
R Republican17
16 Yea 1
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
Photo of Tim Dunn
Tim Dunn
RRepublican
AZ
25