HB2019 is a bill that would have required the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) to make available for public inspection any hydrologic modeling used to determine projected groundwater levels for evaluating applications for certificates or designations of assured water supply. The bill specified that the hydrologic model's findings, conclusions, methods, and assumptions should be included and made available at no cost. Additionally, the bill mandated that at least 90 days before using a new groundwater model within an Active Management Area (AMA), the ADWR Director must post anticipated assumptions on the department's website, invite public comment, hold a public meeting to receive additional comments, and post all comments and ADWR responses online. Each comment was to be accompanied by a statement indicating whether it resulted in any changes to the assumptions.

The bill was vetoed by the Governor, who argued that ADWR already publishes its hydrologic models and engages in robust stakeholder engagement, and that the bill would create unnecessary bureaucratic processes that could delay updates and release of information. The Governor's veto message emphasized that the information is already available to the public on ADWR's website and that the bill's requirements were redundant and potentially obstructive.

Statutes affected:
Introduced Version: 45-581
House Engrossed Version: 45-581