Committee hears SB31 to exempt federal vested water claims from 2027 filing deadline to comply with McCarran Amendment

Senate Bill 31, presented by the Division of Water Resources, would amend Nevada statutes governing filing of vested water-right claims so that federal agencies are not subject to the December 31, 2027 deadline to submit proofs of vested rights. The change is intended to align state law with federal sovereign-immunity precedent and the McCarran Amendment.

Adam Sullivan, state engineer and administrator of the Division of Water Resources, described vested water rights as claims established before Nevada adopted its statutory water law and said the 2017 statute established a 2027 deadline to compile claims. Sullivan said the Division needs records of claimed rights to evaluate potential conflicts when reviewing new water-right applications and to preserve historical evidence of pre-statutory uses. "We need to establish this is a hundred and 20 years ago when water law was established. So if there are vested claims out there, we need to preserve the history that documents their validity," he said.

James Blotten, deputy administrator for the division, explained the legal driver for SB 31. He cited the McCarran Amendment and Ninth Circuit precedent in United States v. State of Oregon (1994), where the Ninth Circuit held a statewide filing deadline was too remote from an adjudication to constitute a waiver of sovereign immunity for the United States. Blotten said Nevada would likely face litigation and lose if the state attempted to apply the 2027 deadline to federal vested claims. SB 31 would exempt federal agencies from the 2027 filing deadline but require federal agencies to file vested or reserve claims once the state engineer initiates a specific adjudication and sets a deadline for that adjudication.

Representatives of the Department of Defense (Captain Kyle Hoffmeister, judge advocate, U.S. Air Force) testified in support, saying SB 31 aligns Nevada law with federal principles and is necessary to protect federal installation missions that rely on water rights.

Opposition testimony came from ranchers and water-rights stakeholders including Joe Guild (attorney and water-right owner), Doug Busselman (Nevada Farm Bureau), Eureka County Natural Resources Manager Jake Tibbetts (VoIP testimony), the Nevada Cattlemen's Association, and others. Opponents argued SB 31 creates an unequal treatment by allowing federal claims to be later-filed while private claimants must meet the statutory deadline. Joe Guild urged a longer, more comprehensive study in the interim rather than a two-month legislative fix. Doug Busselman said the bill "runs counter to fairness" by exempting federal claimants from a statutory deadline that private water-right owners must meet.

Neutral testimony included Paul Taggart, a water-rights attorney, who said cleaning up adjudication statutes is important but suggested the deadline may raise constitutional issues and that a broader interim study and possible funding for adjudication work are worthy of consideration.

Committee members asked technical and procedural questions: how many vested claims had already been filed (the division reported roughly 1,838 federal vested claims and 1,872 total vested claims filed since 2017), whether delaying action would avoid litigation before 2027 (members were told the legal issue would arise only after the deadline passes), and how federal reserve rights differ from vested claims (federal reserve rights arise from federal reservation of land for a purpose while vested claims reflect historical private uses). The division said many federal claims historically have been filed as reserved rights in recent decades and that the statute already permits reserve-right filings by the United States.

The hearing record shows a range of stakeholders urging further interim work to produce a consensus fix; no committee vote on SB 31 was recorded in the transcript.