Gov. Katie Hobbs has made her stance on water clear as numerous bills related to water use and development are progressing through the Arizona Legislature this session.
Water was one of the main talking points for Valley Partnership’s Q&A with the governor on Friday morning, where President and CEO Cheryl Lombard and Hobbs discussed her stances on priorities like transportation, education and development.
“We have for a long time had a really ad hoc approach to how we address water security in our state,” said Hobbs at the meeting. “We’re fortunate to have a groundwork of bipartisan work on water with the Groundwater Management Act of 1980, but it’s time to modernize that act.”
Hobbs said the state is putting together a water policy task force that will recommend updates to the groundwater management act and referenced legislation that proposes to better regulate and manage groundwater in rural communities across the state.
“We all need to be on the same page, but I know that’s much easier said than done,” she said. “You talk about conservation measures that developers can take, but the fact is that 70% of our water is still used by agriculture, and that’s a challenge, so working with farmers on conservation practices that they can put in place is going to be really critical as well.”
Lombard also asked Hobbs what her solution is for conflicting interests related to water, referencing a couple of pieces of proposed legislation from this session.
One of these is a bill that would require all new residential projects to obtain an assured water supply certificate regardless if it’s rental or for-sale; and another bill that would change Arizona’s water law so manufacturers can store their own wastewater, potentially pulling water resources from the system managed by a designated water utility or city.
Hobbs said bills like this show how many competing interests are involved in water and that there’s no easy answer for these challenges, adding that this is why she encourages the Legislature to work with her on the issues.
“What I can say for certain is that my office is not going to entertain any legislation that creates additional loopholes,” Hobbs told the packed room on Friday. “Sometimes it’s easier to just sign the ad hoc legislation because we don’t have to deal with the consequences of that, but if we keep kicking it down the road, we’re going to be in a worse situation.”
Addressing workforce challenges, Prop 400
Hobbs said the current Legislature is the most “anti-business” in recent history and that she’s working to pass a budget that invests more in education. She said a continuation budget that was sent by the Arizona Senate “doesn’t address our biggest challenges” such as education and housing.
“We all need to make sure that we have a workforce,” she said. “I don’t talk to a single employer that isn’t worried about workforce issues right now, and that we’re tackling our affordable housing crisis, which is also affecting workforce.”
Hobbs also said that if a bill regarding Proposition 400, an extension of Maricopa County’s half-cent sales tax, arrives at her desk that she would sign it. Last year, Gov. Doug Ducey’s decision to veto the proposed tax extension drew ire from cities and the business community since the extension would have meant secured funding for major transportation projects.
“Nobody’s going to have to worry about that,” she said. “This is important not just for the region but for the state of Arizona. … It might not be everything that was in the last compromise, it might not be everything we want, but I do think there’s a path forward and I’m willing to help however.”