45-897.01. State water storage fund; disbursement of monies

A. A state water storage fund is established to be administered by the director as provided in this article. The fund shall be divided into two accounts, one account for the benefit of counties having a population of more than five hundred thousand persons but less than one million five hundred thousand persons and one account for the benefit of counties having a population of one million five hundred thousand persons or more, according to the most recent United States decennial census. The accounts shall be referred to respectively as account A and account B. The fund and the accounts within the fund consist of monies appropriated by the legislature and taxes levied by a conservation district pursuant to section 48-3715.02. Monies appropriated by the legislature shall be credited to the separate accounts as provided by the legislature. Taxes levied by the conservation district shall be credited to the separate accounts as provided in section 48-3715.02. Monies in the fund are exempt from lapsing under section 35-190. Interest earned on monies in the fund shall be credited to the fund and to the separate accounts in proportion to the balance of each account.

B. The fund shall be used to pay the capital, operation, maintenance and other costs, including the costs of excess central Arizona project water, of state demonstration projects constructed by the conservation district pursuant to this article. Monies shall be distributed from the fund to the conservation district on the direction of the director, in the manner provided for in section 45-893.01.