Water, climate, environmental justice: Bills to watch at the Arizona Legislature in 2024

Beneath uncommonly gray, drizzly skies, a trio of high school students from Brophy College Preparatory school's Native American Club asked the crowd sheltered under white pop-up tents at the Arizona Capitol to stand, close their eyes and "really think about our land around us in Arizona, our mountains, our water, our sacred lands, the people before us that came here."

Ma-shu-ska Pidgeon, the dark-haired teenager who introduced the "Blessing of the Four Directions," lamented the threatened or endangered status of 21 out of 36 of Arizona's native fish species before passing the microphone to his fellow students Alex Bunkse, a member of the Navajo Nation, and Sophie Reed, who's Inupiat from Alaska.

"Let us turn to the east and give thanks for the Mount Baldy, Mount Graham and Oak Flat, for the Salt and Blue rivers, for the Mexican gray wolf, the Apache trout and the Mount Graham red squirrel," Bunkse read from a printed page.

As they spoke, a line of participants formed in front of a small table to the east of the concrete stage at Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza. The rest of the crowd pivoted left on command to recognize each cardinal direction in turn.

"Let us turn to the north and give thanks for Mount Humphreys, the Grand Canyon, for the Colorado Rivers and the Verde Rivers, for the black-footed ferret, the spikedace and the mountain plover," Reed recited.

Reverentially, the people in line uncapped reusable water bottles and poured the contents into three glass serving bowls on the table, blending the Phoenix tap water sourced from the Colorado, Salt and Verde rivers with liquid from across the state.

"Let us turn to the west and give thanks for the Eagletail and Buckskin mountains, for the Hassayampa and Colorado rivers, for the desert tortoise, the long-nosed bat and the Sonoran mud turtle," Bunkse continued.

The bowls filled and swirled, nearly spilling over. An organizer stepped forward to add a fourth.

"Let us turn to the south and give thanks for the Catalinas and Mount Wrightson, for the Santa Cruz and Gila rivers, for the pronghorn, the leopard frog and the Gila topminnow," Reed concluded.

Brimming in stark contrast to Arizona's rivers and aquifers, the collected water was meant to remind those gathered last Thursday for Environment Day at the Capitol of priorities before attendees scattered to reinforce goals in meetings with Arizona legislators early in the 2024 session.

Sandy Bahr, who directs the Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club and organized the event with other nonprofit leaders, hopes this will be the year state leaders take meaningful, legal steps to protect water resources, act on climate and clean energy and address environmental injustice and racism.

More: New book tells the story of water across three ages, offering a path forward

Before stepping down from the stage, Pidgeon also reminded attendees why they were there.

"When you think of these places, these places give us life," he said. "They give us spirituality, places to pray and places that we must protect. As we talk to our Representatives and leaders, make sure you have these places in mind, these animals in mind that we must protect. The water that gives us life is endangered. Thank you."

A performance review of 2023 bills affecting the environment

Environmentalists in Arizona have reason to be wary about how elected representatives in the state Senate and House will react to bills seeking protections for water resources, guidelines to limit climate warming and funding to help vulnerable communities adapt to increasing heat extremes.

With most pro-environment bills introduced by Democratic lawmakers and Republicans maintaining a majority in the Arizona Legislature, progress can feel slower than the water wasted through a leaky faucet drip or the steady rise of average temperatures.

"Unfortunately, the majority at the Legislature does not seem concerned about ensuring climate action, environmental justice, or doing anything significant to protect our groundwater or our rivers and streams," Bahr said. "The bills that the majority has heard so far do just the opposite of advancing these important issues."

At last year's Environment Day, enthusiasm seemed high for a bill that would provide more opportunities for tree shade at lower-income and minority schools. Sen. Mitzi Epstein, D-Tempe, who sponsored the bill, told The Republic she felt the bill had broad bipartisan support and that she didn't "know of any of my colleagues who object to having more trees."

Last year's capitol event: Environmentalists grow frustrated as lawmakers cast shade on bills instead of schools

But the "Trees for Kids" bill did not receive a committee hearing during the 2023 legislative session, though it did later find a place in the state budget when Gov. Katie Hobbs allocated $300,000 for the effort.

And that was actually the biggest legislative success story of the year for Arizona's environment.

A review by The Republic found that, out of 21 bills supported by environmental groups in the 2023 legislative session, none advanced far enough to receive a committee hearing. (Seven of the 21 were similar versions to seven other bills introduced separately into the House and Senate, but that met the same fate through both routes.)

Environmental activism for seniors: Bill McKibben's Third Act calls on 'graying' Arizonans to join the environmental movement

In contrast, out of eight bills opposed by environmental groups in the legislative session as detrimental to the sustainability of water resources, a livable climate or human health and equity in the state, only one failed to receive a committee hearing. Four others were passed by a majority in the House and Senate, but then vetoed by the governor, and three others were held in the House, the Senate or the Rules Committee.

This means none of the legislation identified as either helpful or harmful to the environment at last year's Environment Day passed into law. But the bills opposed by environmental groups came a lot closer.

Arizona's environmental bills to watch in 2024

Following these losses, environmental leaders in Arizona have returned with another list of bills to support and oppose on behalf of water, climate and environmental justice.

"While it is disheartening to see climate, environmental justice, water protection, and pro-democracy legislation to protect our communities and future generations left on the shelf, we cannot stop advocating for it," Bahr said. "It is just too important."

Updates on the wording or progress of these measures can be found by entering the bill number at https://apps.azleg.gov/BillStatus/BillOverview.

Water bills:

• HB2356: Would allow the Arizona Department of Water Resources to consider future effects in declaring an irrigation non-expansion area, which limits new irrigated acres.

• HB2357 / SB1329: Would recognize watershed-health uses as a “beneficial use,” direct the Department of Water Resources to assess surface waters and defines ecological water needs as “water sufficient to sustain freshwater ecosystems that includes the wildlife habitat and human livelihoods and well-being that depend on these ecosystems.”

• HB2359 / SB1326 (similar): Would require adequate water supply for development, including outside of active management areas.

More on AZ's greenhouse gas rule: The EPA released state-specific emissions reports. Arizona isn't on the list

Climate and energy bills:

• SB1332: Would repeal a prohibition on using public funds for light rail extensions in parts of Phoenix.

• HB2397 / SB1331: Would repeal provisions that prohibit agency actions on reducing greenhouse-gas emissions without express legislative authority and would allow for more action and more flexibility for agencies such as the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. In 2010, the state passed a law preventing state agencies from adopting or enforcing programs to "regulate the emission of greenhouse gas for the purposes of addressing changes in atmospheric temperature without express legislative authorization."

• SB1550: Would create an Arizona Climate Resiliency Planning Group to develop an inventory of statewide greenhouse-gas emissions, revise earlier recommendations and develop a resiliency plan for Arizona’s human populations and natural and economic systems against the risks of climate change.

Environmental justice bills:

• SB1346: Would appropriate an additional $400,000 from the general fund to plant trees for shade at low-income schools.

• HB2295: Would require that major polluters seeking air quality, waste, and water quality permits in "overburdened communities," defined as those with significant non-white, non?English-speaking or low-income populations, develop a plan to limit disproportionate impacts, and allows ADEQ to deny or condition permits based on that.

• HCR2015 / SCR1031: Would make possible a constitutional amendment guaranteeing a right to a healthy environment, with the following wording: “all people of this state, regardless of race, wealth, ethnicity or other identify, shall have an inherent, inalienable right to a clean and healthy environment, including clean air and water and the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic, and aesthetic values of the environment.” Similar wording in the Montana Constitution resulted in a climate case ruling in 2023 obligating that state to consider effects on residents before permitting more fossil fuel projects.

More: After historic climate ruling, Arizonans renew push to guarantee a clean environment

Bills that environmental groups oppose:

• HB2061: Would provide a mechanism for the Department of Water Resources to remove areas from subsequent active management areas, a move environmental groups fear will allow more widespread over-pumping of groundwater.

• HB2123: Would prohibit requiring measuring devices on wells located in areas where the surface waters (rivers and streams) are subject to the adjudication process and outside an initial active management area, which environmental groups worry would hinder efforts to stop groundwater pumping affecting stream flows across Arizona.

• HB2201: Would allow private entities such as Epcor to import water from the Harquahala Valley to feed development in Maricopa and Pinal counties, which environment groups feel would make this a "groundwater pumping sacrifice area."

• HB2130: Would authorize counties to limit the area available for energy production, which environmental groups think would stymie the solar and wind development necessary for climate mitigation.

• HB2133: Would impose a $1 per panel tax on solar panels for disposal programs, something not imposed on other energy generation infrastructure that environmental groups expect would discourage solar developers from pursuing projects in Arizona.

• HB2192: Would prohibit contracting for solar or wind that reduces the size of a grazing lessee’s operation on state trust lands, unless the business compensates the grazing lessee. Environmental groups see this as another bill to punish solar and wind to the benefit of harmful livestock grazing while depriving the state and local governments of lease and tax revenue from the development of clean energy projects. They note there are already standard provisions for lease cancellation and compensation for any infrastructure.

• HB2281 / SB1066: Would impose a 12.5% tax on solar panels not owned by utilities or contracted for with utilities, which environmental groups fear would erect a roadblock to community solar despite not applying directly to rooftop solar.

• HB2646: Would require five years' notice for shutting down fossil fuel power plants and require the attorney general to intervene against federal laws and rules that result in closures if requested by the Arizona Corporation Commission.

Read our climate series: The latest from Joan Meiners at azcentral, a column on climate change

Joan Meiners is the climate news and storytelling reporter at The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. Before becoming a journalist, she completed a doctorate in ecology. Follow Joan on Twitter at @beecycles or email her at [email protected]. Read more of her coverage at environment.azcentral.com.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona legislature eying multiple environmental bills in 2024