# 119-hr-302: Water Rights Protection Act

119-hr-302, Water Rights Protection Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Maloy, Celeste [R-UT-2] (R-UT); status in_committee (as of 2026-09-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-302
- As of: 2026-09-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-302
- Congress: 119
- Title: Water Rights Protection Act
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2025-01-09
- Sponsor: Rep. Maloy, Celeste [R-UT-2] (R-UT)
- Cosponsors: 6
- Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-21

## Summary

**Protects state authority over water rights.** This bill bars federal officials from conditioning land-use permits on transferring or altering water rights and requires federal actions to align with state water law. - States: Requires the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior to coordinate with states and ensure federal rules do not add restrictions beyond state water law. It also forbids asserting a surface-water and groundwater connection that conflicts with state law. - Water users and tribes: Forbids conditioning issuance, renewal, amendment, or extension of permits, leases, easements, rights-of-way, or similar agreements on transferring water rights to the United States or on impairing title under state law. It also bars federal limits on timing, quantity, location of diversion or place of use beyond what state law allows. - Federal projects and laws: Clarifies it does not change Bureau of Reclamation contracts, the Endangered Species Act, federal reserved water rights, tribal treaty rights, interstate compacts or Supreme Court decrees, or authorities under the Federal Power Act.

## Cosponsors (6)

- Rep. Moore, Blake D. [R-UT-1] (R-UT), 2025-01-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Fulcher, Russ [R-ID-1] (R-ID), 2025-01-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Biggs, Andy [R-AZ-5] (R-AZ), 2025-01-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Estes, Ron [R-KS-4] (R-KS), 2025-01-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Owens, Burgess [R-UT-4] (R-UT), 2025-01-14T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Kennedy, Mike [R-UT-3] (R-UT), 2025-02-11T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Protects state and tribal water rights: benefit, medium. If enacted, this bill would limit Federal actions that affect water rights. It would define "Secretary" to mean the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior, and it would define "water right" to include surface water, groundwater, and stored water recognized by a State or court. Th…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-404: Hearing Protection Act
- 119-hr-425: Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act
- 119-hr-1773: Federal Firearms Licensee Protection Act of 2025
- 119-hres-719: Honoring the life and legacy of Charles Charlie James Kirk.
- 119-hr-1628: 761st Tank Battalion Congressional Gold Medal Act
- 119-hr-9298: Stopping Harmful and Outrageous Torts Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-302 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/302)

## Related
- [119-hr-404: Hearing Protection Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-404)
- [119-hr-425: Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-425)
- [119-hr-1773: Federal Firearms Licensee Protection Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1773)
- [119-hres-719: Honoring the life and legacy of Charles Charlie James Kirk.](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hres-719)
- [119-hr-1628: 761st Tank Battalion Congressional Gold Medal Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1628)
- [119-hr-9298: Stopping Harmful and Outrageous Torts Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9298)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-302 (as of 2026-09-21).