Read the full stored bill text
HB2494 - 572R - S Ver
Senate Engrossed
House Bill
certificate;
environmental compatibility; zoning; exemption
State of Arizona
House of Representatives
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
HOUSE BILL 2494
AN
ACT
amending sections 11-812, 40-360.03
and 48-3609.01, arizona revised statutes; relating to land use regulation.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it
enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 11-812, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
11-812.
Restriction on regulation; exceptions; aggregate mining
regulation; definitions
A.
Nothing contained in
Any
ordinance authorized by this chapter
shall
may
not
:
1. Affect existing uses of property or the right to
its continued use or the reasonable repair or alteration of the property for
the purpose for which used at the time the ordinance affecting the property
takes effect.
2. Prevent, restrict or otherwise regulate the use
or occupation of land or improvements for railroad, mining, metallurgical,
grazing or general agricultural purposes, if the tract concerned is five or
more contiguous commercial acres. For the purposes of this paragraph:
(a) "General agricultural purposes"
includes agritourism as defined in section 3-111, but does not include
any of the following:
(i) Food establishments
that are
under
the authority of the department of health services pursuant to section 36-136,
subsection I
and
that are associated with an agritourism
business.
(ii) Rodeo events that are open to the general
public and that sell tickets for admission. For the purposes of this item,
rodeo events do not include generally accepted agricultural practices
associated with livestock and equine operations.
(iii) The cultivation of cannabis as defined in
section 13-3401 or marijuana as defined in section 13-3401 or 36-2801.
(b) "Mining" has the same meaning
prescribed in section 27-301.
3. Prevent, restrict or otherwise regulate the use
or occupation of land or improvements for agricultural composting, if the tract
is five or more contiguous commercial acres. An agricultural composting
operation shall notify in writing the board of supervisors and the nearest fire
department of the location of the composting operation. If the nearest fire
department is located in a city, town or fire district where the agricultural
composting is not located, the agricultural composting operation shall also
notify in writing the fire district in which the operation is
located. Agricultural composting is subject to sections 3-112
and 49-141. For the purposes of this paragraph,
"agricultural composting" has the same meaning prescribed in section
9-462.01, subsection G.
4. Prevent, restrict or otherwise regulate the
otherwise lawful discharge of a firearm or air gun or use of archery equipment
on a private lot or parcel of land that is not open to the public on a
commercial or membership basis.
5. Prevent, restrict or otherwise
regulate the use or occupation of land or improvements for the construction and
operation of a thermal or nonthermal electric generating unit if the owner or
operator of the electric generating unit has applied for and received a
certificate of environmental compatibility for the proposed electric generating
unit from the power plant and transmission line siting committee, and the
certificate is affirmed and approved by an order of the corporation commission pursuant
to title 40, chapter 2, article 6.2.
The
construction and operation of a thermal or nonthermal electric generating unit
pursuant to this paragraph shall comply with all air quality standards
prescribed by title 49, chapter 3 and with all decommissioning, site
restoration, financial assurance and liability insurance requirements
prescribed by title 30.
B. The owner or operator of a
proposed nonthermal electric generating unit
that
is not subject to the requirements of title 40, chapter 2, article 6.2 may
voluntarily apply for a certificate of environmental compatibility pursuant to
subsection A, paragraph
5 of this section, If
the proposed nonthermal electric generating unit will be located in either of
the following areas:
1. on private land that is located in
a county with a population of more than four hundred thousand persons but less
than six hundred thousand persons. If the private land is former state lands as
defined in section 37-101, the owner or operator of the proposed
nonthermal electric generating unit must have acquired the former state lands
at a public auction that was open to all eligible bidders from all industries
and commercial land uses and the commissioner of the state land department may
not have taken, at any point during the public auction or before the public
auction, any action, including imposing any restrictions or qualifications on
eligible bidders or imposing any requirements or minimums on appraisals, that
had the effect of increasing the probability of a bidder from one industry or
commercial land use winning the public auction instead of a bidder from another
industry or commercial land use.
2. On state lands as defined in
section 37-101 that are located In a groundwater basin from which
groundwater may be transported pursuant to title 45, chapter 2, article 8.1.
B.
C.
A
nonconforming business use within a district may expand if the expansion does
not exceed one hundred
per cent
percent
of
the area of the original business.
C.
D.
For
the purposes of subsection A, paragraph 2 of this section, mining does not
include aggregate mining operations in an aggregate mining operations zoning
district established pursuant to this section. The board of supervisors of any
county with a population of more than two million persons shall designate and
establish the boundaries of an aggregate mining operations zoning district on
the petition of at least one hundred persons who reside within one-half
mile of an existing aggregate mining operation. In addition, the board of
supervisors of any county may establish, in its discretion and on the board's
initiative, one or more aggregate mining operations zoning
districts. Aggregate mining operations zoning districts may only be
located in areas that are inventoried and mapped as areas of known reserves or
in areas with existing aggregate mining operations. Subject to subsections
E and
F
and G
of this section, a county
and the state mine inspector may jointly adopt, as internal administrative regulations,
reasonable aggregate mining operations zoning district standards limited to
permitted uses, procedures for approval of property development plans and site
development standards for dust control, height regulations, setbacks, days and
hours of operation, off-street parking, screening, noise, vibration and air
pollution control, signs, roadway access lanes, arterial highway protection and
property reclamation for which aggregate mining operations are not otherwise
subject to federal, state or local regulation or a governmental contractual
obligation. Regulations
that are
jointly
adopted pursuant to this subsection by the county and the state mine inspector
shall not prohibit the activities included in the definition of mine pursuant
to section 27-301, paragraph 8 or duplicate, conflict with or be more
stringent than applicable federal, state or local laws.
D.
E.
The
board of supervisors of any county that establishes an aggregate mining
operations zoning district shall appoint an aggregate mining operations
recommendation committee for the district. The committee consists of
not more than seven operators, or representatives of operators, of active
aggregate mining operations in any district within the county and an equal
number of private citizens, who are not operators, who are not employed by
operators and who do not represent operators, residing within three miles of
the boundaries of aggregate mining operations or a proposed aggregate mining
operation in the district for which the committee is established. The initial
members appointed to the committee shall be deemed the primary members, and the
board of supervisors shall appoint not more than five alternate members who
represent operators and shall appoint not more than five alternate members who
are private citizens. Alternate members may serve at meetings of the committee
when a primary member is unable to attend. An aggregate mining
operator may serve on more than one committee in the same county.� The board of
supervisors shall determine the length of terms of members of the committee and
shall stagger the initial appointments so that not all members' terms expire at
the same time. Members of the committee who no longer qualify for membership as
provided by this subsection are subject to removal and replacement by the board
of supervisors. The committee shall elect a member who is an aggregate mining
operator to serve as chairperson for the first year in which the committee is
created. For each year thereafter, the chairperson shall be elected
by the members of the committee with a member who is a private citizen and a
member who is an aggregate mining operator serving as chairperson in alternate
years. The committee is subject to the open meeting requirements of title 38,
chapter 3, article 3.1.
E.
F.
Within
ninety days after an aggregate mining operations recommendation committee is
established, the committee shall notify all existing aggregate mining operators
in the district of the application of this section and title 27, chapter 3, article
6 to the aggregate mining operation. In addition, the committee shall:
1. By a majority vote of all members make
recommendations to the board of supervisors for aggregate mining zoning
districts and administrative regulations as provided in this section. The board
of supervisors may adopt or reject the recommendations but may not make any
modifications to the recommendations unless the modification is approved by a
majority of the members of the recommendation committee.
2. Serve as a forum for mediation of disputes
between members of the public and aggregate mining owners or operators. If the
committee is unable to resolve a dispute, the committee shall transmit the
matter to the state mine inspector, with written findings and recommendations,
for further action.
3. Hear written complaints filed with the state mine
inspector regarding alleged material deviations from approved community notices
for aggregate mining operations and make written recommendations to the state
mine inspector pursuant to section 27-446.
F.
G.
Any
administrative regulations adopted by a board of supervisors pursuant to this
section are not effective until the regulations are approved by the state mine
inspector. The
state mine
inspector may
disapprove the administrative regulations adopted by the board of supervisors
only if they duplicate, conflict with or are more stringent than applicable
federal, state or local laws, rules or regulations.� If the
state
mine
inspector disapproves the administrative regulations, the
state mine
inspector must provide written reasons for the
disapproval. The
state mine
inspector shall not make any
modification to the administrative regulations as adopted by the board of
supervisors unless the modification is approved by a majority of the members of
the board of supervisors.
G.
H.
A
person or entity is subject to this chapter if the use or occupation of land or
improvements by the person or entity consists of or includes changing,
remanufacturing or treating human sewage or sludge for distribution or resale.
These activities are not exempt from this chapter under subsection A, paragraph
2 of this section.
H.
I.
A
county shall not require as a condition for a permit or for any approval, or
otherwise cause, an owner or possessor of property to waive the right to
continue an existing nonconforming outdoor advertising use or structure without
acquiring the use or structure by purchase or condemnation and paying just
compensation unless the county, at its option, allows the use or structure to
be relocated to a comparable site in the county with the same or a similar
zoning classification, or to another site in the county acceptable to both the
county and the owner of the use or structure, and the use or structure is
relocated to the other site. The county shall pay for relocating the outdoor
advertising use or structure
,
including the cost of
removing and constructing the new use or structure that is at least the same
size and height. This subsection does not apply to county rezoning
of property at the request of the property owner to a more intensive zoning district.
I.
J.
For
the purposes of this section:
1. "Aggregate" has the same meaning
prescribed in section 27-441.
2. "Aggregate mining" has the same meaning
prescribed in section 27-441.
3. "Aggregate mining operation" means
property that is owned, operated or managed by the same person for aggregate
mining.
4. "Operators" means persons who are
actively engaged in aggregate mining operations within the zoning district or
proposed zoning district and who have given notice to the state mine inspector
pursuant to section 27-303.
END_STATUTE
Sec. 2. Section 40-360.03, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
40-360.03.
Application
for certificate of environmental compatibility before construction of
facilities; electronic format; rules; exception
A. Except
as provided in
subsection
subsections
B
and c
of this section, every utility
that plans to construct a plant or transmission line, or both, in this state
shall first file with the commission an application for a certificate of
environmental compatibility. The application shall be in a form
prescribed by the commission and shall be accompanied by information with
respect to the proposed type of facilities and description of the site,
including the areas of jurisdiction affected and the estimated cost of the
proposed facilities and site. The application shall also be
accompanied by a receipt that evidences payment of the appropriate fee required
by section 40-360.09. The commission shall promptly refer the application
and accompanying information to the chairman of the committee for the
committee's review and decision. The application and accompanying information
may be submitted to the commission in an electronic format. The commission may
adopt rules to accept electronic filings under this section and to ensure that
proper notice is provided electronically to interested parties.
B. A
utility may replace a conductor or wire on a transmission line or may replace
an existing transmission line structure or structures with a new transmission
line structure or structures without seeking a new certificate of environmental
compatibility and without holding a hearing under this article if the
replacement is on a transmission line that previously received a certificate of
environmental compatibility or that was in use or authorized before August 13,
1971. All replacement conductors or structures shall comply with the
terms and conditions of the applicable existing certificate of environmental
compatibility.
END_STATUTE
C. A utility may replace an existing
plant with a replacement plant or construct a new plant immediately adjacent to
an existing plant without filing for or receiving a new certificate of
environmental compatibility for the new or replacement plant if all of the
following conditions are met:
1. The utility provides to the
commission thirty days' written notice and holds at least one public comment
session in the county where the existing plant is located.
2. The new or replacement plant is
located on or immediately adjacent to the site of a plant that has previously
received a certificate of environmental compatibility pursuant to this article
or that was in use or authorized before August 13, 1971.
3. The aggregate nameplate rating of
all plants that will be located on and immediately adjacent to the site after
construction will be equal to or greater than the aggregate nameplate rating of
all existing plants located on and immediately adjacent to the site before
construction.
Sec. 3. Section 48-3609.01, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
48-3609.01
.
Watercourse master plans; definition
A. If a district organized pursuant to this chapter
has completed a watercourse master plan
which
that
includes one or more watercourses
,
and if the plan has been adopted by the board or by any other jurisdiction in
that river or drainage system, the board and the governing body of each
jurisdiction may adopt and shall enforce uniform rules for that river or
drainage system within the jurisdiction using criteria that meet or exceed
criteria adopted by the director of water resources pursuant to section 48-3605,
subsection A.
B. During the preparation of a watercourse master
plan, record owners of real property in and immediately contiguous to the
watercourse or watercourses included in the planning shall be publicly notified
by the board or its agents so that the owners may have input to the planning
process. In addition, aggregate mining operations recommendation
committees organized pursuant to section 11-812, subsection
D
E
, if any, shall be notified.
C. All watercourse master plans shall consider
recharge techniques
,
including gabions, swales, dry
wells, sand tanks and small dams.
D. This section does not apply to any city or town
which
that
has adopted a resolution
assuming floodplain management and regulation within its area of jurisdiction
as provided in section 48-3610
prior to
before
July 1, 1990.
E. A district that has prepared a watercourse master
plan for a river may participate in the planning, establishment and operation
of a recreational corridor channelization district established pursuant to
chapter 35 of this title.
F. For the purposes of this section,
"watercourse master plan" means a hydraulic plan for a watercourse
that examines the cumulative impacts of existing development and future
encroachment in the floodplain and future development in the watershed on
potential flood damages and that establishes technical criteria for subsequent
development so as to minimize potential flood damages for all flood events up
to and including the one hundred-year flood.
END_STATUTE