CAP water; state land; allocation

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide details about the amount of water available for allocation or specify that the allocation must be based on the original 1983 allocation from the U.S. Secretary of the Interior.

Water Allocation for State Land

This bill requires the Arizona State Land Department to create a process within four months to allocate water from the Central Arizona Project (CAP) to parcels of state trust land that may be sold or leased.

What This Bill Does

• Requires the State Land Department to start a public stakeholder process within 120 days after the bill becomes law.
• The department must create rules for allocating CAP water to state trust lands that can be sold or leased.

Who It Names or Affects

• Arizona State Land Department
• People who own or lease state trust land

Terms To Know

Central Arizona Project (CAP)

A system that brings water from the Colorado River to central and southern parts of Arizona.

State Trust Land

Land owned by the state for specific purposes, like education or public use.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify what happens if the department fails to create the allocation process within 120 days.
• This bill was vetoed by the governor on April 13, 2026.

Official Summary Text

HB2985 - CAP water; state land; allocation

Current Bill Text

HB2985 - 572R - H Ver

House Engrossed

CAP water; state
land; allocation

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

HOUSE BILL 2985

AN
ACT

providing for the allocation of water
from the state land department.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it
enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1.
Water rights; allocation

Within one hundred twenty days after
the effective date of this act, the state land department shall initiate a
public stakeholder process to adopt a procedure for allocating central Arizona
project water that is currently allocated to the state land department pursuant
to the United States secretary of the interior's final allocation of central
Arizona project water dated January 10, 1983 to parcels of state trust land
that may be sold or leased.