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HB2426 - 572R - H Ver
House Engrossed
state land
department; disposition plan
State of Arizona
House of Representatives
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
HOUSE BILL 2426
AN
ACT
AMENDING
SECTION 37-331.03, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to state lands.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it
enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section
1.
1. Section
37-331.03, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
37-331.03.
Conceptual urban state trust land use plans; five year state
trust land disposition plans; definitions
A. The commissioner shall create
and
approve
conceptual land use plans for all urban state trust land in this
state and other state trust lands the commissioner considers to be
appropriate. The commissioner shall:
1. Prioritize the creation of conceptual
land use
plans to the extent possible to:
(a) Correlate with the rate of population growth in
the urban areas in this state.
(b) Coincide with the production of municipal
general plans under title 9, chapter 4, article 6 and county plans under title
11, chapter 6, article 1.
2. Revise and update each
conceptual
land use
plan at least every ten years.
The COMMISSIONER
shall issue a written order approving each conceptual land use plan and
conceptual land use plan revision.
3. Consult with the city, town or county in which
the land is located and with any regional planning organization regarding
integrating the conceptual
land use
plan into the general
land use plan of the city, town or county.
4.
Submit
Make
each
conceptual land use
plan
, and
revision of
the
a conceptual land use
plan
, to the urban land
planning oversight committee for review
and the Commissioner's written approval of each CONCEPTUAL land use
plan or conceptual land use plan revision AVAILABLE to the public on the
department's website
.
B. On approval of the conceptual land use plan by
the commissioner under this section, the conceptual
land use
plan is
considered to be
a state general plan for
the
purposes of this article.
C. The commissioner may create the conceptual land
use plans under subsection A of this section by any of the following methods:
1. Using department staff or private consultants.
2. Entering into participation contracts pursuant to
section 37-239.
3. Issuing planning permits for urban lands pursuant
to section 37-338.
4. Entering into planning contracts for urban lands
or other state trust lands the commissioner considers to be appropriate,
including compensation as provided by section 37-338, subsection D.
d. On the commissioner's approval of
a conceptual land use plan, the conceptual land use plan, as applied to state
lands that have not been annexed as of the effective date of this amendment to
this section:
1. is the COntrolling land use
designation for state lands.
2. Supersedes any conflicting county
or municipal zoning.
D.
E.
The
commissioner shall create
a
five year disposition
plans
plan
for
all state trust land in
each county in
this state, based
at a minimum on market demand, anticipated transportation and infrastructure
availability. The commissioner shall
do all of the
following
:
1. Review and update each
five year
disposition
plan
for each county
each year as
may be
necessary.
2. Consult with the city, town or county in which
the land is located and with any regional planning organization.
3.
Submit
Make
each
five year disposition
plan
,
and
each five year
disposition plan
revision
to the urban land planning
oversight committee
and each written order that adopts or
approves a five year disposition plan or five year disposition plan revision
AVAILABLE on the department's website
to ensure conformity with the
conceptual
land use
plan under subsection A
of this section
.
4. Ensure that each five year
disposition plan and five year disposition revision conforms with the
conceptual land use plan.
5. Issue a written order that
approves and adopts each five year disposition plan and five year disposition
revision.
E.
f.
For
the purposes of this section:
1. "Conceptual land use plan" means a plan
that is developed for urban state trust land and other state trust lands the
commissioner considers to be appropriate and that identifies:
(a) Appropriate land uses, including commercial,
industrial, residential and open space uses.
(b) Transportation corridors and infrastructure
requirements.
(c) All natural and artificial constraints and
opportunities associated with the land.
2. "Five year disposition plan" means a
plan that identifies the land projected to be sold, leased, reclassified for
conservation purposes, master planned or zoned during the next five years.
END_STATUTE
Sec.
2.
2.
Five year disposition plans; conceptual land use plan;
requirements; delayed repeal
A. Within two years of the
effective date of this act, the state land commissioner shall:
1. Complete the five year
disposition
plans for state
trust lands
and update the
conceptual land use plan for state lands pursuant to section 37-331.03,
subsection
E, Arizona Revised Statutes
, as amended by this act.
2. Adopt written policies
and procedures for updating
:
(
a
)
The five year disposition plan every five years.
(
b
) The
conceptual land use plan every ten years.
3. Adopt
written policies and procedures on how the state land department will use the
five year disposition plans
and the conceptual
land use plan for determining whether state trust lands are or will be sent to
public auction.
4. Provide a copy of the
five year disposition
plans and the conceptual
land use plan and the policies and procedures adopted pursuant to this section
to the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives.
B. This section is repealed
from and after June 30, 2029.
Sec.
3.
3.
Legislative
findings
The legislature finds that:
1. According to the auditor
general's performance audit and sunset review of the state land department
completed on July 9, 2025, the state land department has failed to develop the
statutorily required five year disposition plans since 2016.
2. According to the auditor
general's performance audit and sunset review, all five members of the urban
land planning oversight committee have been vacant since at least 2018.
3. Pursuant to
section 37-331.02
,
Arizona Revised Statutes, and
section 37-331.03,
Arizona Revised Statutes,
as amended by this
act,
the urban land
planning oversight committee serves in an advisory role only and is not
required for the commissioner to fulfill the commissioner's obligations to
create a five year disposition plan pursuant to statute.
4. The fact that the
governor has not appointed any members to the urban land planning oversight
committee has not absolved the commissioner of the commissioner's obligations
to create a five year disposition plan as prescribed in section 37-331.03,
Arizona Revised Statutes
, as amended by this
act.
5. The creation of a five
year disposition plan is necessary for housing affordability and to ensure the
highest and best use of the land for the beneficiaries of the trust.