Committee advances bill to remove Chinese-made telecom equipment from Arizona networks

The Arizona House Committee on Science and Technology on March 24 returned Senate Bill 10-27 with a due-pass recommendation after adopting an amendment that narrowed the bill’s language and scope.

The bill, as explained by committee staff, would remove telecommunications software and hardware that "originates from countries of concern" from infrastructure serving Arizona and would require providers to replace prohibited equipment and face civil penalties for violations. Committee members later adopted an amendment in Representative Pingarelli’s name that removed an earlier phrase tying the ban to federal agencies and narrowed the foreign-country reference to the People’s Republic of China, required a microchip requirement for physical broadband equipment, and converted a filing requirement into a certification requirement.

Supporters said the measure targets equipment from vendors that federal agencies have sanctioned. "The threat that is addressed in this legislation is mainly Huawei," said Michael Lucci, founder of State Armor, who described federal reporting and past state actions he said motivated the proposal. "This legislation would be about getting that equipment out of the communications infrastructure in the state." Lucci cited earlier federal actions such as placement on the Commerce Department entity list and the Trust and Secure Communications Act of 2019 as background for the bill’s goals.

Industry and infrastructure witnesses urged caution and questioned whether the state-level law is necessary where federal restrictions exist. Michael DeMaria, who identified himself as an architect with Lumen Technologies, described work his company and other providers perform under federal rules and said federal oversight and enforcement already address many of the flagged vendors. "Federal law is pretty clear on what you can and cannot do," DeMaria said, adding concern about how state certification would be implemented and who would carry out audits.

Committee debate focused on the text of the Pingarelli amendment and on implementation details, such as the mechanics of certification and which entities would be required to remove equipment. After discussion, members voted to adopt the four-page amendment and then voted to return SB 10-27 as amended with a due-pass recommendation.

Votes: The committee adopted the Pingarelli amendment by voice vote. On the final roll call for SB 10-27 as amended, the clerk recorded Representative Aguilar — Nay; Representative Conley — Nay; Representative Fink — Aye; Representative Heap — Aye; Representative Laguerre — Nay; the Vice Chairwoman — Aye; and Chair Kim Norelli — Aye. The committee reported the bill as amended with a 4–3 vote (4 ayes, 3 nays, 0 present, 2 absent).

The bill will next proceed to the House calendar as a measure reported from committee. No effective dates or enforcement timelines were specified in committee discussion.