Ariz. House considers ‘Ag to Urban bill’ after Senate’s passage
The Arizona House is taking up the so-called “Ag to Urban bill.” The Senate approved the bipartisan measure Thursday. Also known as Senate Bill 1611, the measure provides what Senate Natural Resources Chair Thomas “T.J.” Shope calls solutions to Arizona’s most pressing issues: groundwater protection and skyrocketing home prices due to low supply. Under the bill, farmers would be allowed to sell their land and water rights to developers who will in turn build for-sale housing to meet the needs of Arizona’s growing population. In a press release, Shope, who’s also the Senate president pro tempore, called this “the most consequential piece of groundwater legislation” in decades. ”An analysis of the Ag-to-Urban program by the Arizona Department of Water Resources reveals our state will save 9.6-million-acre feet of water over the next 100 years,” said the Republican senator.
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