Assigned to NR FOR COMMITTEE
ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh Legislature, First Regular Session
FACT SHEET FOR H.B. 2059
natural resources; federal law; requirements
Purpose
Prohibits the state, any agency or political subdivision of the state and any employee,
agency or political subdivision of the state acting in the employee's official capacity from using
any personnel or financial resources to enforce, administer or cooperate with outlined federal
actions and programs.
Background
The Clean Air Act requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish
minimum national standards for air quality and assigns primary responsibility to the states to assure
compliance with the standards. Areas not meeting the standards, referred to as nonattainment
areas, are required to implement specified air pollution control measures. The Clean Air Act
requires State Implementation Plans to include adequate provisions to prevent sources within that
state from contributing significantly to nonattainment in one or more downwind states, a
requirement referred to as the Good Neighbor Plan Rule (Congress: Clean Air Act).
The Clean Water Act establishes the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants
into the waters of the United States and regulating quality standards for surface waters. Under the
Clean Water Act, the EPA has implemented pollution control programs such as setting wastewater
industry standards and developing national water quality criteria recommendations for pollutants
in surface waters (EPA: Clean Water Act).
The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) enforces energy reduction goals for
federal agencies and includes regulations relating to corporate average fuel economy standards,
renewable fuel standards and appliance efficiency standards. EISA also requires the construction
and rehabilitation of specified affordable housing to meet certain revised energy conservation
requirements (EPA: EISA; Congress: EISA).
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 provides a framework to conserve and protect
endangered and threatened species and their habitats both domestically and abroad. In 1988, in an
effort to reintroduce the endangered Mexican Wolf, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released
the first captive Mexican Wolves into the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area in Arizona
and New Mexico. The Endangered Species Act also requires that an incidental take permit be
obtained for any taking of an endangered or threatened species incidental to an otherwise lawful
activity (NOAA: Endangered Species Act; Taking of Endangered and Threatened Species and U.S.
Fish & Wildlife Service).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this
legislation. FACT SHEET
H.B. 2059
Page 2
Provisions
1. Prohibits the state, any agency or political subdivision of the state and any employee, agency
or political subdivision of the state acting in the employee's official capacity from using any
personnel or financial resources to enforce, administer or cooperate with the following federal
actions or programs:
a) outlined programs or actions authorized by the Clean Air Act of 1963 as amended by the
Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990;
b) any waters of the United States that are regulated by the Federal Water Pollution Control
Act Amendments of 1972;
c) energy efficiency standards for new construction of housing and urban development-financed
and U.S. Department of Agriculture-financed housing authorized by Energy Independence and
Security Act of 2007; or
d) the Mexican Wolf Reintroduction Program and the Incidental Take Permit Program of the
Endangered Species Act of 1973.
2. Specifies that the prohibition on enforcing, administering or cooperating with outlined federal
actions and programs does not prohibit the state or an agency, political subdivision or employee
of the state or an agency or political subdivision of the state acting in the employee's official
capacity from complying with a court order.
3. Specifies that the prohibition on enforcing, administering or cooperating with the Mexican
Wolf Reintroduction Program does not apply to the Livestock Loss Program that is
administered and enforced by the Arizona Livestock Loss Board.
4. Requires the superior court, in any proceeding in court to enforce compliance with the outlined
federal actions and programs, to decide all questions of law and all questions of fact relating
to the designated federal action or program without deference to any previous determination
that may have been made on the question by a federal agency.
5. Subjects any employee of the state or any agency or political subdivision of the state who
knowingly violates the prohibition on enforcing, administering or cooperating with outlined
federal actions and programs to:
a) a civil penalty of up to $3,000, for a first violation; and
b) a class 1 misdemeanor, for a second or subsequent violation.
6. Stipulates that a person who is guilty of a class 1 misdemeanor for a violation of the outlined
prohibition is not eligible for probation, pardon, suspension of sentence or release on any basis
until the person has served at least 60 days in jail.
7. Prohibits any agency or political subdivision of the state from receiving grants monies from
any source if the agency or political subdivision adopts a rule, order, ordinance, regulation or
policy or otherwise takes any action that violates the prohibition on enforcing, administering
or cooperating with outlined federal actions and programs.
8. Prohibits any agency or political subdivision that violates the outlined prohibition from
receiving grant monies from any source in the fiscal year following the year in which a final
judicial determination in an action brought regarding the prohibition is made that finds that the
agency or political subdivision adopted a rule, order, ordinance, regulation or policy or
otherwise took action that violated the prohibition. FACT SHEET
H.B. 2059
Page 3
9. Contains a statement of legislative findings.
10. Contains a severability clause.
11. Designates this legislation as the Natural Resource Anticommandeering Act.
12. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
House Action
NREW 2/18/25 DP 5-4-1-0
3
rd
Read 2/26/25 32-27-1
Prepared by Senate Research
March 21, 2025
SB/slp