Summary#

SB 1852, “Environment; 2026-2027,” would amend Arizona law and authorize several state-fund uses for fiscal year 2026-2027. The bill’s title identifies environmental matters, but the text does not state one overall goal. It is not law; passage and implementation are uncertain.

• It would extend through 2030 the period for certain Pinal Active Management Area groundwater-withdrawal fees for water banking and irrigation-efficiency projects.
• It would extend the temporary groundwater and irrigation efficiency projects fund and its governing law, with unencumbered money due to be distributed to contributors by the end of 2032.
• It would allow up to $6.531 million from the underground storage tank revolving fund to pay Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) administrative costs and address sewage discharge issues in Naco and other border areas.
• It would allow Arizona Water Banking Fund money to pay legal fees for the Arizona Navigable Stream Adjudication Commission, and up to $336,000 from the Arizona Water Protection Fund to pay ADEQ administrative costs.
• It would hold Area A vehicle-emissions testing fees at their June 30, 2025 level during fiscal year 2026-2027, and cap the state general fund appropriation to the Water Quality Assurance Revolving Fund at $15 million for that year.

What it means for you#

• Pinal groundwater users or rights holders: The bill would extend through 2030 a fee of up to $2.50 per acre-foot for water banking and up to $2.50 per acre-foot for groundwater and irrigation-efficiency projects. The director sets the actual fee. The bill text also includes existing exceptions and limits; the fee is not necessarily the maximum.
• Qualified irrigation districts: The director may give grants from the temporary fund for well and related infrastructure construction or rehabilitation. The bill extends the fund’s legal life; it does not require the director to make grants.
• Area A emissions-test customers: Their test fees would remain at the June 30, 2025 level during fiscal year 2026-2027.
• Taxpayers and state agencies: The bill allows certain dedicated funds to cover state agency costs and other listed purposes. It does not state that the full authorized amounts will be spent.
• Other residents: The bill does not directly change general groundwater rights, create a new public service, or set a new general tax.

Money#

No overall cost estimate is provided; no publicly available information on the bill’s total fiscal impact is included in the supplied material.

• Up to $6.531 million could be used from the underground storage tank revolving fund for ADEQ administration and sewage-discharge remediation. The bill does not divide that amount between the two uses.
• Up to $336,000 from the Arizona Water Protection Fund could go to ADEQ administrative costs.
• Arizona Water Banking Fund money could pay the commission’s legal fees, but no amount is stated.
• The bill caps the fiscal year 2026-2027 state general fund appropriation to the Water Quality Assurance Revolving Fund at $15 million; it does not require an appropriation of that amount.
• It extends the period for certain Pinal groundwater fees and related project funding. The bill does not estimate fee collections or project costs.

What is unclear#

• The separate current versions of the amended statutes were not supplied, so I could not verify all changes against current law beyond the changes shown in the bill text.
• The bill does not say what fee amounts the director will set, how much will be collected, or how many projects may receive grants.
• It does not give a spending split or selection process for the underground storage tank fund’s permitted uses.
• It does not explain how the added legal-fee authority will be used or how much those fees may cost.
• The bill extends the delayed repeal of another law, section 45-118, to 2031, but the supplied material does not explain what that law does.

Case for#

• Extending the Pinal fee and project-fund timelines could give irrigation districts more time to build or repair wells and related infrastructure.
• The fund can support efficient groundwater delivery and may give preference to wells and infrastructure used to recover stored water.
• The bill directs certain funds toward specified purposes, including sewage-discharge remediation and agency administration, rather than stating that the money may be used for any purpose.
• Keeping Area A testing fees at their June 2025 level for one year could provide a defined fee level during that period.

Case against#

• The bill extends a groundwater fee authority and the related fund without estimating the amount that may be collected or spent.
• Grant decisions are discretionary, and the bill does not set grant amounts, decision timelines, or an appeal process.
• The bill permits fund money to cover agency administrative costs and commission legal fees, but does not give estimates for those costs.
• The bill does not explain the law being extended by the section 45-118 repeal date, making that extension difficult to assess from the supplied material alone.