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House circles water-rights adjudication cleanup after member questions about notice and small users
Summary
Representative Briscoe presented HB 29 to streamline state water-rights adjudication and permit electronic notice by the state engineer. Members pressed for clarity about notification, effects on small water users and forfeiture timelines; the House voted to circle the bill for further review.
House Bill 29, a technical clean-up to state water-rights adjudication, drew extended floor discussion Jan. 30 before the House agreed to circle the bill for further work. Sponsor Representative Briscoe said the measure would transfer statutory responsibility for maintaining water-right records to the state engineer, allow subdivision of large basins into smaller adjudication units, and permit confirmed electronic notice where receipt can be certified.
Members pressed the sponsor on multiple points: Representative King asked whether the bill related to proposed large diversions from the Colorado River (sponsor said no), and Representative Fisher, speaking as a small water user, asked how electronic notice would protect elderly owners who do not use email. Briscoe said the statute permits electronic notice only where receipt can be confirmed and emphasized redundancy in notice methods (newspaper publication, mailed letters, email when verified).
Questions also addressed how long a water user can be inactive before losing rights; the sponsor estimated forfeiture occurs over decades rather than after a short absence. Representative Frower asked to circle the bill to allow more time for examination; the motion carried and the bill was placed off the floor for further consideration.
Outcome: HB 29 was circled for further study and will return for more detailed consideration after members and affected stakeholders have had time to review the revised language.
