Hot Springs Village tells Senate committee it should be exempted from 2019 POA cleanup fund

Kelly Hale, general manager for Hot Springs Village, told the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee that Hot Springs Village operates with municipality status on water permits, maintains reserve funds and an operations-and‑maintenance plan, and should be exempt from a 2019 law that required POAs/HOAs to contribute to a fund for cleaning abandoned water and sewer plants. Hale said ADEQ analyst Michael Grama reviewed the village's diligence and recommended language changes to recognize the community as a municipality rather than a POA/HOA.

The sponsor described the bill as removing the requirement for communities with more than 5,000 inhabitants to contribute to the fund; the sponsor closed and the committee voted to pass HB 1015 by voice vote. The transcript records no public opposition during the hearing.

Hale summarized the village's position: "We're actually like a city. We do everything but provide energies. We are self contained. We don't defer anything." The committee passed HB 1015; the chair noted that exempted communities could be ineligible for future state funding for plant failures if they claim the exemption.