PHOENIX — Arizona Representative Ruben Gallego has introduced a bill to crack down on water resources.
The Domestic Water Protection Act of 2022, originally co-sponsored by Rep. Raul Grijalva, “would impose an excise tax on the sale and export of water-intensive crops grown by foreign companies or foreign governments in areas experiencing prolonged drought.”
A press release from Gallego’s office says the act would:
- Create an excise tax on the sale and export of any water-intensive crop by any foreign company or foreign government in areas experiencing prolonged drought
- Impose the excise tax at a 300% rate, reflecting the unjustifiable disparity in land lease rates between domestic and foreign producers in Arizona
- Implement the tax in a manner consistent with international trade agreements
ABC15 has extensively covered the water crisis in Arizona and the southwest. In previous coverage, Mohave County Supervisor Travis Lingenfelter said farming operations from as close as California and as far as Saudi Arabia moved into Mohave County, sometimes seemingly popping up out of nowhere.
Efforts to monitor how much is actually being used by large corporate farms were going nowhere.
"We have not been able to get a hearing at the legislature for the last several years. Not even a debate, no discussion, nothing," Lingenfelter said.
