Gilbert: Arizona GOP Bill Would Block Solar Map on State Land, Igniting Housing vs. Energy Fight at the Statehouse
Marcus Whitfield
The Clash Over Arizona's 9.2 Million Acres
A legislative battle over how Arizona manages its 9.2 million acres of state land is reaching the State Senate, with Republican lawmakers advancing a bill that would eliminate the Arizona Land Department's solar project mapping program.
HB 2975, introduced by Rep. Ralph Heap, R-Mesa, passed the Republican-controlled House on a party-line vote. The measure now awaits a Senate vote.
The bill targets a practice by the Land Department that has drawn sharp criticism from developers, conservationists, and the governor's office.
Why Gilbert Should Pay Attention
Gilbert sits at the edge of Phoenix's urban expansion. State land parcels near growing communities in the greater Phoenix area, including Pinal County and the eastern Valley, are at the center of this fight.
Heap told Capitol Media Services that the Land Department's solar scores map singles out solar development "near growing communities in places like the greater Phoenix area while offering no comparable scoring and mapping for other critical uses like home building or mining."
"By designating a map for solar, but not for other industries, the Hobbs administration is effectively declaring solar the preferred use of the land," Heap said in a statement supporting his legislation.
Heap, who is also running for the Arizona Corporation Commission, said the map tilts the playing field toward one industry at the expense of housing.
"For many residents, these parcels are among the worst possible locations for utility-scale solar: near established residential neighborhoods, directly in the path of growth, and on land that could otherwise support new housing," Heap said.
The Governor's Defense
Gov. Katie Hobbs pushed back against the characterization. She said the Land Department's sole guiding principle is maximizing financial returns for the state trust, which funds K-12 education.
"I think that it is essential that we're not picking winners and losers in the energy equation," Hobbs told Capitol Media Services.
Hobbs said the department considers all uses and that whichever generates the highest value wins.
"If the highest and best value of the land is renewable energy, that will be the case. If the highest and best use is housing, that will be the case. We're not sacrificing one for the other," she said.
What HB 2975 Would Change
The bill has a two-part structure:
- Eliminate the Land Department's authority to create a solar-only map
- Require the agency to prepare comparable maps for residential development and mining
Heap said the change would ensure "neutral, data-driven decisions that prioritize the highest return for Arizona."
Industry and Advocacy Groups Take Sides
Spencer Kamps, vice president of the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona, said the solar map functions as a presumptive highest and best use designation for solar projects.
"In the absence of a similar map for other industries, some might say the solar map is serving functionally as a 'presumptive highest and best use map,' which gives solar a 'rebuttable presumption' of highest and best use in each part indicated in green," Kamps said in prepared comments.
Conservation groups oppose the bill. Sandy Bahr, director of the Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club, called the proposal punitive toward solar.
"It does single out solar in a punitive way," Bahr said.
Jodi Liggett, a lobbyist for Chispa Arizona, a program of the League of Conservation Voters, said HB 2975 "removes a useful planning tool."
The Pinal County Flashpoint
The debate centers in part on an 8,100-acre solar project planned on state land near Florence Junction in Pinal County. Heap said the project sits directly in the path of housing development.
"They want to put all these solar fields out in Pinal County. That's definitely in the line of housing development," Heap said.
The Pinal County Board of Supervisors unanimously rejected the project.
What Happens Next
HB 2975 is now in the Arizona Senate. If it passes and receives the governor's signature, it would reshape how the state evaluates its land holdings for decades to come.
Arizona received approximately 10 million acres of land from the federal government upon statehood in 1912. About 8 million acres remain designated for K-12 education funding. The state can sell or lease these lands for residential development, mining, grazing, and energy projects.
The constitutional requirement is that state lands be managed for their "highest and best use" to maximize financial returns for the trust.
The Senate vote on HB 2975 will determine whether solar projects retain their planning advantage or whether the state adopts a more even-handed mapping approach across industries.