(Rpld. 4/1/28)
A.The temporary groundwater and irrigation efficiency projects fund is established for the purpose of funding projects for the construction and rehabilitation of wells and related infrastructure for the withdrawal and efficient delivery of groundwater by qualified irrigation districts in the Phoenix active management area, the Pinal active management area and the Harquahala irrigation non-expansion area. The fund consists of legislative appropriations, groundwater withdrawal fees collected in the Pinal active management area pursuant to section 45-611, subsection C, paragraph 5, grants from federal agencies and monies deposited in the fund by qualified irrigation districts in the Phoenix active management area, the Pinal active management area and the Harquahala irrigation
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(Rpld. 4/1/28)
A. The temporary groundwater and irrigation efficiency projects fund is established for the purpose of funding projects for the construction and rehabilitation of wells and related infrastructure for the withdrawal and efficient delivery of groundwater by qualified irrigation districts in the Phoenix active management area, the Pinal active management area and the Harquahala irrigation non-expansion area. The fund consists of legislative appropriations, groundwater withdrawal fees collected in the Pinal active management area pursuant to section 45-611, subsection C, paragraph 5, grants from federal agencies and monies deposited in the fund by qualified irrigation districts in the Phoenix active management area, the Pinal active management area and the Harquahala irrigation non-expansion area. Groundwater withdrawal fees deposited in the fund shall be accounted for separately from other monies in the fund and shall be used only for constructing and rehabilitating wells and related infrastructure in the Pinal active management area. Monies in the fund are continuously appropriated for the purposes of this section.
B. The director may accept and deposit into the fund monies, grants, gifts, contributions and devises to assist in carrying out the purposes of this section.
C. The director shall administer the fund. On notice from the director, the state treasurer shall invest and divest monies in the fund as provided by section 35-313, and monies earned from investment shall be credited to the fund.
D. The director may grant monies from the fund to qualified irrigation districts established pursuant to title 48, chapter 19 in the Phoenix active management area, the Pinal active management area and the Harquahala irrigation non-expansion area for the purposes described in subsection A of this section. In granting monies from the fund, the director may give preference to wells and related infrastructure that would be used to recover stored water. Grants made to qualified irrigation districts are exempt from title 41, chapter 24.
E. Before December 31 of each year, the director shall submit to the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate a written report describing the activities of the department for the preceding fiscal year related to expenditures from the fund. The report shall include an accounting for expenditures from the fund and how the monies were used to finance projects for the construction and rehabilitation of wells and related infrastructure for the withdrawal and efficient delivery of groundwater by qualified irrigation districts in the Phoenix active management area, the Pinal active management area and the Harquahala irrigation non-expansion area.
F. Except as provided in subsection G of this section, monies in the fund are exempt from the provisions of section 35-190 relating to lapsing of appropriations.
G. On June 30, 2027, any unencumbered monies in the fund shall be proportionally distributed to the fund's contributors by December 31, 2027 according to the total amount of monies deposited in the fund by each contributor. The proportion of the unencumbered monies attributable to groundwater withdrawal fees levied under section 45-611, subsection C, paragraph 5 shall be deposited in the Arizona water banking fund established by section 45-2425 and shall be used only in the Pinal active management area in the same manner as groundwater withdrawal fees collected in the Pinal active management area pursuant to section 45-611, subsection C, paragraph 3.
H. All monies deposited in the temporary groundwater and irrigation efficiency projects fund shall be held in trust. The monies in the fund may be used only for the purposes prescribed in this section and may not be appropriated or transferred by the legislature to fund the general operations of this state or to otherwise meet the obligations of the state general fund. This subsection does not apply to any taxes or other levies that are imposed pursuant to title 42 or 43.
I. For the purposes of this section, "qualified irrigation district" means an irrigation district that meets all of the following requirements:
1. The irrigation district received central Arizona project water in any year after calendar year 2014 other than through a groundwater savings facility permit issued under chapter 3.1 of this title.
2. There are at least nine thousand acres that may be lawfully irrigated within the boundaries of the irrigation district.
3. For an irrigation district located in the Phoenix active management area only, the district did not deliver surface water other than central Arizona project water in calendar year 2017.
4. The irrigation district submitted an application to the department for monies from the fund established by this section to construct an irrigation efficiency project in the Phoenix active management area, the Pinal active management area or the Harquahala irrigation non-expansion area.