Arizona Legislature Advances Several Bills That Facilitate UA’s Land Grant Mission
Last week the Arizona legislature advanced several bills that will benefit programs within the University of Arizona that are distinct to our land grant mission. As Arizona’s Land Grant institution, UA is charged with delivering cutting-edge research and education to all corners of the state to ensure a sustainable agriculture industry. The legislature has recognized UA’s unique responsibility as a Land Grant institution by providing bi-partisan support for the bills listed below.
SB1714 (appropriation; veterinary diagnostic lab)
On March 16, the House Appropriation Committee passed SB1714 with a vote of 11 ayes and two nays. This bill appropriates $5,000,000 from the general fund to the University of Arizona’s Veterinary Diagnostic Lab. The lab serves to protect Arizona from disease spread by providing accurate, timely and cost-effective livestock diagnostic and surveillance services. In doing so, the lab provides a unique and critical public good for Arizona’s animal-based economies. The lab has become increasingly more vital as the world faces unprecedented times where human and animal health are endangered from disease spread within and beyond the US borders.
SB1217 (Arizona veterinary loan assistance program)
On March 16, the House Appropriation Committee passed SB1217 with a vote of 10 ayes and three nays. This bill appropriates $5,000,000 to the Arizona Department of Agriculture to establish the Arizona Veterinary Loan Assistance Program. This program will provide grants to alleviate loan debt to individuals who obtain a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree and agree to practice in an area in Arizona designated as having a veterinarian shortage. In the Fall 2021, University of Arizona opened the state’s only public College of Veterinary Medicine.
SB 1564 (On-farm irrigation efficiency; fund; appropriation)
On March 18, Representative Tim Dunn introduced SB1564 which will be heard in the House Natural Resources Committee this week. This bill appropriates $30 million to the University of Arizona’s Cooperative Extension offices to administer a three year on-farm irrigation efficiency pilot program. The program will provide grants to farmers for the purposes of reducing on-farm use of groundwater, surface water, and Colorado River water, and water delivered through Central Arizona Project. The Cooperative Extension office may grant monies to qualified applicants who install an on-farm irrigation efficiency system. Additionally, the Extension offices will be required to provide the legislature with an annual report on the data collected documenting the water savings that result from the program.