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H.R. 302 119th Congress House

Water Rights Protection Act

Official title: To prohibit the conditioning of any permit, lease, or other use agreement on the transfer of any water right to the United States by the Secretary of the Inter… Show full official titleShow less

Official title: To prohibit the conditioning of any permit, lease, or other use agreement on the transfer of any water right to the United States by the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture, and for other purposes.

Introduced: January 9, 2025 Introduced by: Celeste Maloy Republican · Utah See on congress.gov
Public Lands and Natural Resources Administrative law and regulatory proceduresDepartment of AgricultureDepartment of the InteriorIndian lands and resources rights
More subjectsShow fewer subjects
Intergovernmental relationsLand use and conservationLicensing and registrationsState and local government operationsWater use and supply
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 Everywhere this bill has been 8 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Nov 25, 2025
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 334.
Nov 25, 2025
Committee on Agriculture discharged.
Nov 25, 2025
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 119-384, Part I.
Feb 14, 2025
Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology.
Feb 12, 2025
Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by the Yeas and Nays: 22 - 16.
Feb 12, 2025
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Jan 9, 2025
Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Jan 9, 2025
Introduced in House
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What's happening now November 25, 2025

Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 334.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Water Rights Protection Act of 2025

This bill limits the transfer of water rights from water users to the Department of the Interior or the Department of Agriculture (USDA).

First, the bill prohibits Interior and USDA from conditioning the issuance or renewal of land use or occupancy agreements (e.g., permits and leases) on the transfer of any water right to the United States. Next, it prohibits Interior and USDA from requiring water users, including Indian tribes, to acquire water rights in the name of the United States as a condition of the issuance or renewal of a land use or occupancy agreement. Finally, it prohibits Interior and USDA from conditioning or withholding the issuance or renewal of land use or occupancy agreements on (1) limiting the date, time, quantity, location of diversion or pumping, or place of use of a state water right beyond any applicable limitations under state water law; or (2) modifying the terms and conditions of groundwater withdrawal, guidance and reporting procedures, or conservation and source protection measures established by a state.

Interior and USDA must also ensure that federal action imposes no greater restriction or regulatory requirement than under applicable state water law.

Further, Interior and USDA must not take actions that adversely affect state authority in permitting water usage or in adjudicating water rights.

 Hearings & markups 1
 Bill text 2 versions

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 3
 Lobbying activity 12

Registered lobbyists who named this bill in their disclosure filings. Source: federal Lobbying Disclosure Act filings.

Bodies those filers lobbied

A filing lists the bills it worked on and the parts of government it contacted in separate sections, so these are the bodies those filers named anywhere in the filing, not a per-bill breakdown.

See all 12 filings →
 Cosponsors 6
All 6 Republican 6
R
Kennedy, Mike
Utah · Feb 11, 2025
 R
Owens, Burgess
Utah · Jan 14, 2025
 R
Biggs, Andy
Arizona · Jan 9, 2025
 R
Estes, Ron
Kansas · Jan 9, 2025
 R
Fulcher, Russ
Idaho · Jan 9, 2025
 R
Moore, Blake D.
Utah · Jan 9, 2025
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 302: Water Rights Protection Act. 119th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-302/
MLA
"H.R. 302: Water Rights Protection Act." 119th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-302/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 302, 119th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-302/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 302: Water Rights Protection Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-302/)
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