Assigned to NR & APPROP                                                                                                   FOR COMMITTEE

ARIZONA STATE SENATE

Fifty-Seventh Legislature, First Regular Session

FACT SHEET FOR H.B. 2103

appropriation; Colorado River Compact; defense

Purpose

Appropriates $1,000,000 in FY 2026 from the state General Fund (state GF) to the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) to defend, protect and enforce Arizona's allocation of Colorado River water under the Colorado River Compact of 1922 (Compact).

Background

The Director of ADWR is authorized to consult, advise and cooperate with the U.S. Secretary of the Interior on behalf of Arizona to deliver water of the main stream of the Colorado River for use in Arizona (A.R.S. 45-107).

The Compact was ratified in 1922 as an agreement between the seven states of the Colorado River Basin. The Compact divided the states into the Upper and Lower Basin and apportioned 7,500,000 acre feet of water per annum to each basin (A.R.S. § 45-1311). Several documents and agreements that govern the operation and management of the Colorado River are set to expire in 2026, including the: a) 2007 Interim Guidelines; b) 2019 Drought Contingency Plans; and c) 1944 Water Treaty between the United States and Mexico (USBR).

H.B. 2103 appropriates $1,000,000 in FY 2026 from the state GF to ADWR.

Provisions

1. Appropriates $1,000,000 from the state GF to ADWR to defend, protect and enforce Arizona's allocation of Colorado River water under the Colorado River Compact of 1922.

2. Becomes effective on the general effective date.

House Action

NREW            1/28/25      DP             10-0-0-0

APPROP         1/29/25      DP             14-0-0-4

3^rd Read          2/13/25                        53-0-7

Prepared by Senate Research

March 21, 2025

SB/SN/slp