Arizona House of Representatives passes ban on Chinese technology in critical infrastructure

A bill to ban the use of Chinese-made technology in the state’s critical infrastructure passed out of the Arizona House of Representatives.

House Bill 2696 would prohibit state agencies and public utilities from equipping critical infrastructure with Chinese software and other technology manufactured in the country or manufactured by companies controlled by the Chinese government.

Rep. Nick Kupper (R-Surprise) said the legislation is needed to protect Arizona’s critical infrastructure in the event the U.S. comes into direct conflict with China.

“If we do not do something to protect our critical infrastructure now, anytime later might be too late,” he said.

The bill defines “critical public infrastructure” as any infrastructure owned by the state or local governments along with systems operated by publicly regulated utilities, such as water, gas and power providers. Telecommunications systems, transportation networks, data storage and emergency services are also covered by the bill.

If passed, the legislation would affect an array of technologies, including wi-fi routers, lidar technology and speed detection systems.

Kupper said he isn’t certain how many existing government contracts and systems would be immediately affected if his bill becomes law.

“That’s going to be part of the thing, is identifying what is problematic and what isn’t problematic,” Kupper said.

That uncertainty didn’t sit well with Rep. Aaron Marquez (D-Phoenix), who said he spoke with Department of Public Safety officials who are opposed to the legislation.

“They called it having the ability to cripple our supply chain, even though I do understand the intentions of the sponsor for national security reasons,” Marquez said.

HB 2696 passed out of the House with mostly Republican votes. Rep. Consuelo Hernandez (D-Tucson) was the only Democrat to back the bill.

Kupper said he worked with Democrats to address some of their concerns, including the supply chain issue cited by Marquez. The bill includes an exception for technologies that can’t be purchased elsewhere if “not purchasing or using the prohibited technology would pose a greater threat to this state than the threat associated with the prohibited technology.”

Those exceptions would have to be approved by the Arizona Corporation Commission, which is also charged with creating a list of prohibited technologies. Agencies and other organizations impacted by the law would also have to report to the commission affirming its compliance with the law.

The version of the bill that passed the House of Representatives is much narrower than Kupper’s original legislation, which initially targeted technologies manufactured by companies controlled by any country deemed a foreign adversary by the federal government.

“Instead of saying ‘foreign adversaries’ and giving the federal government the power to determine what that is, I think we in the state agree that China is our biggest concern, and they're the ones really making the technology,” Kupper said. “I don’t think Iran is giving us a lot of routers.”

Kupper’s bill is just the latest effort by Republican lawmakers to limit the influence of outside nations in Arizona.

In February, Republicans in the Arizona Senate passed legislation sponsored by Sen. Mark Finchem (R-Prescott) that would ban the sale of land in the state to a foreign entity that is considered hostile to the U.S. by the director of national intelligence.