Rep. Chris Lopez Extends Pinal County Pump Tax Relief Through 2030, Allowing Farmers to Keep and Reinvest More of Their Money

STATE CAPITOL, PHOENIX – Arizona State Representative Chris Lopez, Vice Chair of the House Natural Resources, Energy & Water Committee, celebrated the inclusion of a major win in the FY2027 budget for farmers in the Pinal Active Management Area.

The budget extends the statutory moratorium on groundwater withdrawal fees for water banking purposes, as well as the $2.50 per acre-foot cap on annual groundwater withdrawal fees for the Temporary Groundwater and Irrigation Efficiency Projects Fund, for four years, through 2030.

The budget also extends distributions from the Temporary Groundwater and Irrigation Efficiency Projects Fund through 2032, allowing more time to distribute the funds to qualified irrigation districts for permitted projects.

The Temporary Groundwater and Irrigation Efficiency Projects Fund provides money for groundwater and irrigation efficiency projects in the Pinal AMA. In 2024, funds were swept to help balance the budget, affecting farmers’ ability to adequately prepare for looming Colorado River reductions.

“With ongoing negotiations related to the Colorado River, extending the program through 2030 was necessary to provide stability for irrigation districts as they prepare for a future with less Colorado River water,” said Representative Lopez.

“The extension through 2030 provides irrigation districts the certainty they need to keep farming with less water and helps keep Pinal money in Pinal,” Representative Lopez added. “It allows irrigation districts to upgrade their wells and move from open canals to closed pipe, which conserves water by reducing evaporative loss.”

Rep. Lopez introduced the extension this session as House Bill 2827 and successfully fought to include the proposal in the Legislature’s final budget through the Environment Budget Reconciliation Bill, House Bill 4159.

Chris Lopez is a Republican member of the Arizona House of Representatives serving Legislative District 16, which includes portions of Pinal and Pima Counties. Follow him on X at @LopezForArizona and Instagram at @chrislo72.