Government Goings-on

The Legislature appears determined to adjourn by April 30. Last-minute shenanigans are thus in order. Of 1,163 bills introduced, 300 are still alive, and must be handled. Striker bills — in...

Every January a flurry of activity seems to characterize all levels of government.  Like clockwork, many things are happening early in 2015. Governor Ducey has nominated Tom Buschatzke to be...

A little breathing room is always appreciated. In December, the three Lower Basin states plus other parties signed an agreement to store an extra 740,000 acre-feet in Lake Mead by...

The election season is over.  Once the session begins in January, the new Legislature will have their hands full with the budget for the next fiscal year—a deficit of $1.5...

The Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District (CAGRD) has been for 20 years the legal mechanism by which subdivisions based on mined groundwater can have that groundwater replenished by someone else...

Welcome to the party, California!  In September, Governor Jerry Brown signed three pieces of legislation that for the first time in 164 years will try to regulate California’s use of...

Just a few weeks ago, a former corporate board treasurer (6 years) alerted me to a new federal regulation. The U.S. Forest Service has issued a new directive applicable to...

In April, the EPA and the Corps of Engineers jointly put out a draft rule under the Clean Water Act.  The rule addresses exactly what is meant by “waters of the...