Farm Bureau At The 2023 Nevada Legislature

By Doug Busselman | NFB Executive Vice President

As this is being written, the 82nd Session of the Nevada Legislature is in its early phases (the third week).

One of Nevada Farm Bureau’s top priorities is representing our state’s farmers and ranchers at the Nevada Legislature. Annually Farm Bureau farmer and rancher members participate in a process of developing policy positions on the issues that they believe warrant their organization’s attention. Starting at the county Farm Bureau level and working up to the Nevada Farm Bureau annual meeting. The positions on important issues are discussed and worked into the form of statements that when adopted by the voting delegates are incorporated into our annual policy book.

The Farm Bureau policy book is the basis for evaluating legislative proposals and the lobbying activities that are carried out on a daily basis in the legislative session.

It was Farm Bureau’s policy regarding “Critical Management Areas” which was worked into SB 113, introduced by request by Senator Pete Goicoechea of Eureka. The purpose of this bill is to clarify the intentions of the Nevada Legislature to protect senior water right owners in groundwater management plans when such a plan is developed under state law for Critical Management Areas.

If SB 113 is passed, as written, future groundwater management plans that are submitted to the State Engineer for consideration will need to be signed by senior water right owners who have the majority of the total groundwater committed for use in a basin.

A “senior water right owner” is defined as being someone who holds a permit or certificate to appropriate water in the basin with priority rights that are older than the date on which appropriations for withdrawals of groundwater in the basin were equal to the perennial yield of the basin.

For those senior water right owners who do not wish to participate in the groundwater management plan, and who have not signed the proposed plan, the State Engineer “shall not require” their water to be included in the provisions of the groundwater management plan.

SB 113 has also been co-sponsored by Senators Robin Titus, Carrie Buck, Ira Hansen, Jeff Stone and Lisa Krasner. Another section of the bill also addresses existing -- as well as any future groundwater management plans that are developed. It is the only portion of the legislation which has any application for existing groundwater management plans.

When a plan has been in effect for 10 consecutive years, the State Engineer is to review the results of the groundwater management plan to determine whether there has been significant progress towards stabilizing the drawdown of the groundwater in the basin. If there hasn’t been significant progress, the plan is dissolved and the withdrawals, without limitation, including withdrawals from domestic wells will be restricted in that basin to conform to priority rights.

Farm Bureau policy states, “Attention needs to be directed at addressing overappropriated groundwater basins with solutions oriented to bringing water rights and water being pumped into balance with perennial yields.”

It is because of this policy statement and another Nevada Farm Bureau policy for a water rights buyout/ retirement program that Farm Bureau is supporting passage of SB 176. This is another legislative proposal sponsored by Senator Goicoechea. It establishes and provides initial funding for purchasing water rights from willing sellers and retiring those water rights from further appropriation.

To start the “Account for Purchasing and Retiring Water Rights,” SB 176 seeks an initial appropriation of $5 million. It also authorizes funding to go into the account by various other methods including gifts, donations, bequest or grants.

The State Engineer is directed to develop the necessary regulations for carrying out the program.

SB 112 is another bill which fits into Nevada Farm Bureau’s policy and is a measure that we will be supporting. This legislation is aimed at basin accounts and assessments that the State Engineer makes in some designated basins. If passed, the bill will cap the assessment at a maximum amount of $2 per acre ft. of agricultural water rights. It also would prohibit the use of the money levied to pay the salaries and expenses of the State Engineer or the technical, clerical and operational staff of the State Engineer.

Starting in the last session of the Nevada Legislature, funds were diverted from the basin accounts and used to cover staff salaries and expenses under the auspices that those being paid with these funds had something to do with the reason the fees were being assessed. The degree to which this might be the case is unknown, since there aren’t any reports that go to the counties where the fees are levied.

SB 112 would also change that lack of accountability. The bill would require the State Engineer to submit an annual report, before the first Monday in October, to each county commission where the assessments are collected, where the funds were spent and the activities that were being carried out for the groundwater basin.

Farm Bureau policy supports the transparency that this bill seeks.

Not all of the legislation that Farm Bureau is working on is water related, although this session will have more water bills than any other session that can be recalled. Farm Bureau has recently testified in support of AB 109, a bill brought forward by Assemblywoman Selena La Rue Hatch.

This bill is geared to establishing a state program for enhancing soil health. It creates a nine-member advisory committee which is connected to the State Conservation Commission. AB 109 seeks to fund the start-up with $200,000 and through having such a program it is anticipated that additional federal funding for soil health will be available for use in Nevada.

Conservation Districts are tagged with being the “boots on the ground” for implementing educational and technical support with funding coming their way through the structure legislated in the bill.

Farm Bureau’s policy has went on record as being in support of the voluntary/incentive-based approach that the legislation calls for as well as the emphasis that Farm Bureau members have given to wanting educational and practical assistance in understanding the concepts and practices for regenerative agriculture. The bill also calls for research on improving soil health, another important and foundational process needed to better understand what works best for Nevada’s soil and environmental conditions.

As the Nevada’s 2023 Legislative Session continues to unfold, Nevada Farm Bureau will be engaged, seeking to implement the policy positions that Farm Bureau members have spelled out to be objectives that they wish to be achieved.