biologic weapons prohibition; crime

HB2974 - 572R - I Ver

REFERENCE TITLE:
biologic weapons prohibition; crime

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

HB 2974

Introduced by

Representatives
Keshel: Fink, Heap

AN
ACT

amending section 13-2301, Arizona Revised
Statutes; amending title 13, chapter 29, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding
section 13-2931; relating to offenses AGAINST public order.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 13-2301, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
13-2301.

Definitions

A. For the purposes of sections 13-2302, 13-2303
and 13-2304:

1. "Collect an extension of credit" means
to induce in any way any person to make repayment of that extension.

2. "Creditor" means any person making an
extension of credit or any person claiming by, under or through any person
making an extension of credit.

3. "Debtor" means any person to whom an
extension of credit is made or any person who guarantees the repayment of an
extension of credit, or in any manner undertakes to indemnify the creditor
against loss resulting from the failure of any person to whom an extension is
made to repay the extension.

4. "Extend credit" means to make or renew
any loan or to enter into any agreement, tacit or express, whereby the
repayment or satisfaction of any debt or claim, whether acknowledged or
disputed, valid or invalid, and however arising, may or shall be deferred.

5. "Extortionate extension of credit"
means any extension of credit with respect to which it is the understanding of
the creditor and the debtor when the extension is made that delay in making
repayment or failure to make repayment could result in the use of violence or
other criminal means to cause harm to the person or the reputation or property
of any person.

6. "Extortionate means" means the use, or
an express or implicit threat of use, of violence or other criminal means to
cause harm to the person or the reputation or property of any person.

7. "Repayment of any extension of credit"
means the repayment, satisfaction or discharge in whole or in part of any debt
or claim, acknowledged or disputed, valid or invalid, resulting from or in
connection with that extension of credit.

B. For the purposes of section 13-2305, 13-2306
or 13-2307:

1. "Dealer in property" means a person who
buys and sells property as a business.

2. "Stolen property" means property of
another as defined in section 13-1801 that has been the subject of any
unlawful taking.

3. "Traffic" means to sell, transfer,
distribute, dispense or otherwise dispose of stolen property to another person,
or to buy, receive, possess or obtain control of stolen property, with the
intent to sell, transfer, distribute, dispense or otherwise dispose of the
property to another person.

C. For the purposes
of this chapter:

1. "Animal
activity" means a commercial enterprise that uses animals for food,
clothing or fiber production, agriculture or biotechnology.

2. "Animal facility" means a building or
premises where a commercial activity in which the use of animals is essential
takes place, including a zoo, rodeo, circus, amusement park, hunting preserve
and horse and dog event.

3. "Animal or ecological terrorism" means
any felony in violation of section 13-2312, subsection B that involves at
least three persons acting in concert, that involves the intentional or knowing
infliction of property damage in an amount of more than $10,000 to the property
that is used by a person for the operation of a lawfully conducted animal
activity or to a commercial enterprise that is engaged in a lawfully operated
animal facility or research facility and that involves either:

(a) The use of a deadly weapon or dangerous
instrument.

(b) The intentional or knowing infliction of serious
physical injury on a person engaged in a lawfully conducted animal activity or
participating in a lawfully conducted animal facility or research facility.

4. "Biological agent"
:

(
a
)
Means
any microorganism, virus, infectious substance or biological product that may
be engineered through biotechnology or any naturally occurring or bioengineered
component of any microorganism, virus, infectious substance or biological
product and that is capable of causing any of the following:

(a)

(
i
)
Death, disease or physical injury in a human,
animal, plant or other living organism.

(b)

(
ii
)
The deterioration or contamination of air, food,
water, equipment, supplies or material of any kind.

(
b
) Includes
modified messenger ribonucleic acid injections or products as defined in
section 13-2931.

5. "Combination" means persons who
collaborate in carrying on or furthering the activities or purposes of a
criminal syndicate even though such persons may not know each other's identity,
membership in the combination changes from time to time or one or more members
may stand in a wholesaler-retailer or other arm's length relationship
with others as to activities or dealings between or among themselves in an
illicit operation.

6. "Communication service provider" has
the same meaning prescribed in section 13-3001.

7. "Criminal syndicate" means any
combination of persons or enterprises engaging, or having the purpose of
engaging, on a continuing basis in conduct that violates any one or more
provisions of any felony statute of this state.

8. "Explosive agent" means an explosive as
defined in section 13-3101 and flammable fuels or fire accelerants in
amounts over fifty gallons but excludes:

(a) Fireworks as defined in section 36-1601.

(b) Firearms.

(c) A propellant actuated device or propellant
actuated industrial tool.

(d) A device that is commercially manufactured
primarily for the purpose of illumination.

(e) A rocket having a propellant charge of less than
four ounces.

9. "Material support or resources"
includes money or other financial securities, financial services, lodging,
sustenance, training, safehouses, false documentation or identification,
communications equipment, facilities, weapons, lethal substances, explosives,
personnel, transportation, disguises and other physical assets but does not
include medical assistance, legal assistance or religious materials.

10. "Public establishment" means a
structure, vehicle or craft that is owned, leased or operated by any of the
following:

(a) This state or a political subdivision as defined
in section 38-502.

(b) A public agency as defined in section 38-502.

(c) The federal government.

(d) A health care institution as defined in section
36-401.

(e) A private educational institution.

11. "Research facility" means a
laboratory, institution, medical care facility, government facility, public or
private educational institution or nature preserve at which a scientific test,
experiment or investigation involving the use of animals is lawfully carried
out, conducted or attempted.

12. "Terrorism" means any felony,
including any completed or preparatory offense, that involves the use of a
deadly weapon or a weapon of mass destruction or the intentional or knowing
infliction of serious physical injury with the intent to do any of the
following:

(a) Influence the policy or affect the conduct of
this state or any of the political subdivisions, agencies or instrumentalities
of this state.

(b) Cause substantial damage to or substantial
interruption of public communications, communication service providers, public
transportation, common carriers, public utilities, public establishments or
other public services.

(c) Intimidate or coerce a civilian population.

(d) Further the goals, desires, aims, public
pronouncements, manifestos or political objectives of any terrorist
organization.

13. "Terrorist organization" means any
organization that is designated by the United States department of state as a
foreign terrorist organization under section 219 of the immigration and
nationality act (8 United States Code section 1189).

14. "Toxin"
:

(
a
)
Means
the toxic material of plants, animals, microorganisms, viruses, fungi or
infectious substances or a recombinant molecule, whatever its origin or method
of reproduction, including:

(a)

(
i
)
Any poisonous substance or biological product that
may be engineered through biotechnology and that is produced by a living
organism.

(b)

(
ii
)
Any poisonous isomer or biological product,
homolog or derivative of such a substance.

(
b
) Includes
modified messenger ribonucleic acid injections or products as defined in
section 13-2931.

15. "Vector"
:

(
a
)
Means
a living organism or molecule
, including
a
recombinant molecule or biological product that may be engineered through
biotechnology
,
that is capable of carrying a biological agent or
toxin to a host.

(
b
) Includes:

(
i
)
a recombinant molecule or
biological product that may be engineered through biotechnology.

(
ii
) modified
messenger ribonucleic acid injections or products as defined in section
13-2931.

16. "Weapon of mass destruction"
:

(
a
)
Means:

(a)

(
i
)
Any device or object that is designed or that the
person intends to use to cause multiple deaths or serious physical injuries
through the use of an explosive agent or the release, dissemination or impact
of a toxin, biological agent or poisonous chemical, or its precursor, or any
vector.

(b)

(
ii
)
Except as authorized and used in accordance with a
license, registration or exemption by the department of health services
pursuant to section 30-672, any device or object that is designed or that
the person intends to use to release radiation or radioactivity at a level that
is dangerous to human life.

(
b
) Includes
modified messenger ribonucleic acid injections or products as defined in
section 13-2931.

D. For the purposes of sections 13-2312, 13-2313,
13-2314 and 13-2315, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. "Control", in relation to an
enterprise, means the possession of sufficient means to allow substantial
direction over the affairs of an enterprise and, in relation to property, means
to acquire or possess.

2. "Enterprise" means any corporation,
partnership, association, labor union or other legal entity or any group of
persons associated in fact although not a legal entity.

3. "Financial institution" means a banking
or securities regulatory agency of the United States, a business coming within
the definition of a bank, financial agency or financial institution as
prescribed by 31 United States Code section 5312 or 31 Code of Federal
Regulations section 1010.100 or a business under the jurisdiction of the
securities division of the corporation commission, the state real estate
department or the department of insurance and financial institutions.

4. "Racketeering" means any act, including
any preparatory or completed offense, that is chargeable or indictable under
the laws of the state or country in which the act occurred and, if the act
occurred in a state or country other than this state, that would be chargeable
or indictable under the laws of this state if the act had occurred in this
state, and that would be punishable by imprisonment for more than one year
under the laws of this state and, if the act occurred in a state or country
other than this state, under the laws of the state or country in which the act
occurred, regardless of whether the act is charged or indicted, and the act
involves either:

(a) Terrorism, animal terrorism or ecological
terrorism that results or is intended to result in a risk of serious physical
injury or death.

(b) Any of the following acts if committed for
financial gain:

(i) Homicide.

(ii) Robbery.

(iii) Kidnapping.

(iv) Forgery.

(v) Theft.

(vi) Bribery.

(vii) Gambling.

(viii) Usury.

(ix) Extortion.

(x) Extortionate extensions of credit.

(xi) Prohibited drugs, marijuana or other prohibited
chemicals or substances.

(xii) Trafficking in explosives, weapons or stolen
property.

(xiii) Participating in a criminal syndicate.

(xiv) Obstructing or hindering criminal
investigations or prosecutions.

(xv) Asserting false claims, including false claims
asserted through fraud or arson.

(xvi) Intentional or reckless false statements or
publications concerning land for sale or lease or sale of subdivided lands or
sale and mortgaging of unsubdivided lands.

(xvii) Resale of realty with intent to defraud.

(xviii) Intentional or reckless fraud in the
purchase or sale of securities.

(xix) Intentional or reckless sale of unregistered
securities or real property securities.

(xx) A scheme or artifice to defraud.

(xxi) Obscenity.

(xxii) Sexual exploitation of a minor.

(xxiii) Prostitution.

(xxiv) Restraint of trade or commerce in violation
of section 34-252.

(xxv) Terrorism.

(xxvi) Money laundering.

(xxvii) Obscene or indecent telephone communications
to minors for commercial purposes.

(xxviii) Counterfeiting marks as proscribed in
section 44-1453.

(xxix) Animal terrorism or ecological terrorism.

(xxx) Smuggling of human beings.

(xxxi) Child sex trafficking.

(xxxii) Sex trafficking.

(xxxiii) Trafficking of persons for forced labor or
services.

(xxxiv) Manufacturing, selling or distributing
misbranded drugs in violation of section 13-3406, subsection A, paragraph
9.

(xxxv) Holding an unauthorized racing meeting as
proscribed in section 5-107.01.

5. "Records" means any book, paper,
writing, computer program, data, image or information that is collected,
recorded, preserved or maintained in any form of storage medium.

6. "Remedy racketeering" means to enter a
civil judgment pursuant to this chapter or chapter 39 of this title against
property or a person who is subject to liability, including liability for
injury to the state that is caused by racketeering or by actions in concert
with racketeering.

E. For the purposes of sections 13-2316, 13-2316.01
and 13-2316.02:

1. "Access" means to instruct, communicate
with, store data in, retrieve data from or otherwise make use of any resources
of a computer, computer system or network.

2. "Access device" means any card, token,
code, account number, electronic serial number, mobile or personal
identification number, password, encryption key, biometric identifier or other
means of account access, including a canceled or revoked access device, that
can be used alone or in conjunction with another access device to obtain money,
goods, services, computer or network access or any other thing of value or that
can be used to initiate a transfer of any thing of value.

3. "Computer" means an electronic device
that performs logic, arithmetic or memory functions by the manipulations of
electronic or magnetic impulses and includes all input, output, processing,
storage, software or communication facilities that are connected or related to
such a device in a system or network.

4. "Computer contaminant" means any set of
computer instructions that is designed to modify, damage, destroy, record or
transmit information within a computer, computer system or network without the
intent or permission of the owner of the information, computer system or
network. Computer contaminant includes a group of computer
instructions, such as viruses or worms, that is self-replicating or self-propagating
and that is designed to contaminate other computer programs or computer data,
to consume computer resources, to modify, destroy, record or transmit data or
in some other fashion to usurp the normal operation of the computer, computer
system or network.

5. "Computer program" means a series of
instructions or statements, in a form acceptable to a computer, that allow the
functioning of a computer system in a manner designed to provide appropriate
products from the computer system.

6. "Computer software" means a set of
computer programs, procedures and associated documentation concerned with the
operation of a computer system.

7. "Computer system" means a set of
related, connected or unconnected computer equipment, devices and software,
including storage, media and peripheral devices.

8. "Critical infrastructure resource"
means any computer or communications system or network that is involved in
providing services necessary to ensure or protect the public health, safety or
welfare, including services that are provided by any of the following:

(a) Medical personnel and institutions.

(b) Emergency services agencies.

(c) Public and private utilities, including water,
power, communications and transportation services.

(d) Fire departments, districts or volunteer
organizations.

(e) Law enforcement agencies.

(f) Financial institutions.

(g) Public educational institutions.

(h) Government agencies.

9. "False or fraudulent pretense" means
the unauthorized use of an access device or the use of an access device to
exceed authorized access.

10. "Financial instrument" means any
check, draft, money order, certificate of deposit, letter of credit, bill of
exchange, credit card or marketable security or any other written instrument as
defined in section 13-2001 that is transferable for value.

11. "Network" includes a complex of
interconnected computer or communication systems of any type.

12. "Property" means financial
instruments, information, including electronically produced data, computer
software and programs in either machine or human readable form, and anything of
value, tangible or intangible.

13. "Proprietary or confidential computer
security information" means information about a particular computer,
computer system or network that relates to its access devices, security
practices, methods and systems, architecture, communications facilities,
encryption methods and system vulnerabilities and that is not made available to
the public by its owner or operator.

14. "Services" includes computer time,
data processing, storage functions and all types of communication functions.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Title 13, chapter 29, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended by adding section 13-2931, to read:

START_STATUTE
13-2931.

Unlawful manufacturing, acquisition, possession or making of
modified messenger ribonucleic acid injections or products; enforcement;
nonfeasance in public office; classification; definition

A. It is unlawful for a person to
INTENTIONALLY or knowingly manufacture, acquire, possess or make readily
accessible to another person modified messenger ribonucleic acid injections or
products.

b. The governor, the attorney general
and all county attorneys, county sheriff's departments and other law
enforcement agencies shall collaborate and shall use all lawful means necessary
to enforce this section.

c. The enforcement of this section is
a mandatory duty imposed by law.� A state or local government official who
knowingly fails to enforce or investigate violations of this section after
being provided with reasonable evidence of violations is guilty of nonfeasance
in public office pursuant to section 38-443.

d. A resident of this state may seek
injunctive relief, declaratory relief and monetary damages from this state or a
state or local government official for lack of enforcement of this section.

e. A violation of this section is a
class 2 felony and may be prosecuted under section 13-2308.01 as terrorism and
under section 13-2308.03 as unlawful use of an infectious biological
substance when the elements of those offenses are established. A
person convicted of a violation of this section is subject to the enhanced
penalties prescribed in sections 13-2308.01 and 13-2308.03 when
applicable, including the possibility of life imprisonment if the violation
causes a person's death.

f. For the purposes of this section,
"MODIFIED messenger ribonucleic acid injections or products":

1. Means any of the following:

(
a
) With
regards to COVID-19 injections, modified messenger ribonucleic acid as related
to the gene altering agents. FOr the purposes of this subdivision,
"gene altering" means to substitute two N-methyl-pseudouridine
amino acids for the usual uridine components to elude immune destruction of the

messenger ribonucleic acid, which then allows the messenger
ribonucleic acid that produces the pathogenic Spike protein to exist within
cells for a longer period of time.

(
b
) Any
injection or product that contains modified messenger

ribonucleic acid.

(
c
) Any human
gene therapy product for any infectious disease indication, regardless of
whether the administration is termed an immunization, a vaccination or another
similar term.

(
d
) Nanotechnology
or nanoparticles that alter genes and that create a biosynthetic cell
replication.

(
e
) self-amplifying
or self-replicating modified messenger ribonucleic acid. For the
purposes of this subdivision, "self-amplifying" or "self-replicating"
means a form of modified messenger ribonucleic acid that is capable of making
copies of itself once inside a cell, leading to a higher level of antigen
production over a prolonged period.

2. Does not include naturally
occurring messenger ribonucleic acid that is a single-stranded molecule of
ribonucleic acid that corresponds to the genetic sequence of a gene.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 3.
Legislative intent

It is the intent of the legislature to
designate modified messenger ribonucleic acid injections and products as
biological agents and weapons of mass destruction as defined in section
13-2301, Arizona Revised Statutes, as amended by this act, and to both:

1. Declare that their use
is an act of terrorism under section 13-2308.01, Arizona Revised
Statutes, and an unlawful use of an infectious biological substance under
section 13-2308.03, Arizona Revised Statutes.

2. Prohibit their
possession, use or distribution in this state.

Sec. 4.
Short title

This act may be cited as the
"Sansone mRNA Bioweapons Prohibition Act".

Sec. 5.
Emergency

This act is an emergency measure that
is necessary to preserve the public peace, health or safety and is operative
immediately as provided by law.