Committee advances $100,000 for statewide stormwater recharge mapping, adopts amendment

The Arizona House Committee on Appropriations voted 11–7 to give House Bill 2053 a due‑pass recommendation after adopting an amendment that extends the mapping deadline and broadens coordination requirements.

Greg Garten, the committee’s assistant research analyst, said HB2053 would appropriate $100,000 from the state general fund in FY2027 to the Arizona Department of Water Resources to produce updated statewide stormwater recharge mapping. An amendment in Chairman Livingston’s name moved the delivery deadline from 180 days to within one year after the bill’s effective date, expanded partner coordination and revised language to avoid mapping sites that would capture appropriable surface water.

Sponsor Representative Gail Griffin told members the bill expands a prior state‑trust‑lands recharge mapping effort to include private lands; she cited 331 previously identified state‑trust sites that ADWR and the State Land Commissioner had mapped. Trent Blomberg of ADWR testified the agency is neutral on the bill, supports expanded technical analysis and noted concerns about legal determinations regarding appropriable surface water and water‑court jurisdiction—decisions that ADWR said are ultimately a legal question for the courts.

With the amendment adopted by voice vote, the committee approved HB2053 as amended and forwarded it with a due‑pass recommendation. Members asked staff and ADWR to work through technical clarifications about site selection criteria and legal constraints before further floor consideration.