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SB1046 • 2026

telecommunications infrastructure; equipment requirements

SB1046 - telecommunications infrastructure; equipment requirements

Technology
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Wendy Rogers
Last action
2026-04-13
Official status
House committee of the whole
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and text do not specify the exact penalties for noncompliance beyond a range.

Secure Telecommunications Act

The Secure Telecommunications Act requires telecommunications providers in Arizona to remove equipment made by a foreign adversary from critical infrastructure and certifies compliance annually with the Arizona Corporation Commission, facing penalties for noncompliance.

What This Bill Does

  • Prohibits telecommunications infrastructure within or serving Arizona from using equipment manufactured by a foreign adversary (defined as China).
  • Requires removal and replacement of prohibited equipment with non-prohibited alternatives in critical telecommunications infrastructure.
  • Exempts providers from needing additional permits to remove, discontinue, or replace prohibited equipment if they notify the relevant state agency properly.
  • Requires annual certification from telecommunications providers to the Arizona Corporation Commission stating compliance with the act.
  • Imposes civil penalties ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 per day for noncompliance or knowingly submitting false certifications.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Telecommunications providers operating in Arizona
  • The Arizona Corporation Commission

Terms To Know

Critical telecommunications infrastructure
Physical broadband infrastructure and equipment that supports user information transmission, connects to publicly regulated utility networks, and contains at least one microchip.
Foreign adversary
The People's Republic of China

Limits and Unknowns

  • Does not specify the exact penalties for noncompliance beyond a range.
  • Does not provide details on how to identify or remove prohibited equipment.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Plain English: Fifty-seventh Legislature Public Safety Second Regular Session S.B.

  • Fifty-seventh Legislature Public Safety Second Regular Session S.B.
  • 1046 COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY SENATE AMENDMENTS TO S.B.
  • 1046 (Reference to printed bill) The bill as proposed to be amended is reprinted as follows: 1 Section 1.
  • Title 18, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding 2 chapter 8, to read: 3 CHAPTER 8 4 PROHIBITED TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE 5 ARTICLE 1.
  • This amendment summary is using official source text because generated interpretation was skipped for this run.

Plain English: Fifty-seventh Legislature Public Safety Second Regular Session S.B.

  • Fifty-seventh Legislature Public Safety Second Regular Session S.B.
  • 1046 PROPOSED SENATE AMENDMENTS TO S.B.
  • 1046 (Reference to printed bill) The bill as proposed to be amended is reprinted as follows: 1 Section 1.
  • Title 18, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding 2 chapter 8, to read: 3 CHAPTER 8 4 PROHIBITED TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE 5 ARTICLE 1.
  • This amendment summary is using official source text because generated interpretation was skipped for this run.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-13 House

    House committee of the whole

  2. 2026-03-31 House

    House minority caucus

  3. 2026-03-31 House

    House majority caucus

  4. 2026-03-30 House

    House consent calendar

  5. 2026-03-19 House

    House second read

  6. 2026-03-18 House

    House Rules: C&P

  7. 2026-03-18 House

    House Science & Technology: DP

  8. 2026-03-18 House

    House first read

  9. 2026-03-16 House

    Transmitted to House

  10. 2026-03-16 Senate

    Senate third read passed

  11. 2026-03-16 Senate

    Senate committee of the whole

  12. 2026-03-10 Senate

    Senate minority caucus

  13. 2026-03-10 Senate

    Senate majority caucus

  14. 2026-01-14 Senate

    Senate second read

  15. 2026-01-12 Senate

    Senate Rules: PFC

  16. 2026-01-12 Senate

    Senate Public Safety: DPA

  17. 2026-01-12 Senate

    Senate first read

Official Summary Text

SB1046 - 572R - Senate Fact Sheet

Assigned to
PS��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� AS
PASSED BY COMMITTEE

ARIZONA STATE SENATE

Fifty-Seventh
Legislature, Second Regular Session

AMENDED

FACT SHEET FOR
S.B. 1046

telecommunications
infrastructure; equipment requirements

Purpose

Effective
January 1, 2027, establishes the Secure Telecommunications Act of 2026

which
prohibits, and requires the removal and replacement of, any critical
telecommunications infrastructure that uses equipment manufactured by a foreign
adversary, requires telecommunications providers to certify compliance and
prescribes a civil penalty for noncompliance.

Background

����������� The
Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) consists of five elected commissioners and
is responsible for public utilities regulation, facilitating incorporation of
businesses and organizations, granting or denying rate adjustments, enforcing
safety and public service requirements and approving securities matters.
Telecommunications providers, subject to the jurisdiction of the ACC, must be
competitively neutral in relation to all telecommunications providers competing
in Arizona (
A.R.S.
� 40-250
).

����������� Telecommunication
s
are the transmission, between or among points specified by the user, of
information of the user's choosing, without change in the form or content of
the information as sent and received and does not include commercial mobile
radio services, pay phone services, interstate services or cable services.
Telecommunications
services
are the offering of telecommunications for a fee directly to the
public, or to such users as to be effectively available directly to the public,
regardless of the facilities used (
A.R.S.
� 9-581
).

����������� There is no
anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this
legislation.

Provisions

1.

Requires critical telecommunications infrastructure that is located
within or serves the State of Arizona to be constructed without including any
equipment that is manufactured by a
foreign adversary
.

2.

Specifies that a
foreign adversary
is defined as the People's
Republic of China.

3.

Stipulates that critical telecommunications infrastructure that is
located within or serves the state must be constructed without having any
equipment that is, including any equipment whose critical or necessary
components are, manufactured in or by:

a)

a
foreign adversary, a state-owned enterprise of a foreign adversary;

b)

a
company that is domiciled within a foreign adversary or that is owned by a
foreign adversary

or where a foreign adversary
is entitled to control the company by the corporation's governing documents; or

c)

a
foreign adversary state-owned enterprise or a foreign adversary-domiciled company.

4.

Requires critical telecommunications infrastructure that operates within
or serves the state, including critical telecommunications infrastructure that
is not permanently disabled, to remove and replace all prohibited equipment
with nonprohibited equipment.

5.

Exempts a telecommunications provider that removes, discontinues or
replaces any prohibited telecommunications equipment or service from being
required to obtain any additional permit from any state agency or political
subdivision of the state to remove, discontinue or replace the equipment or
service, if:

a)

the
agency or political subdivision is properly notified of the necessary removal,
discontinuation or replacement; and

b)

any
replacement telecommunications equipment is similar to the existing telecommunications
equipment.

6.

Requires, by January 1 of each year, each telecommunications provider to
certify to the ACC that all critical telecommunications infrastructure and
equipment within the provider's operation do not use or provide any prohibited
telecommunications equipment or service.

7.

Subjects a telecommunications provider to a civil penalty of at least
$10,000 per day and no more than $100,000 per day of noncompliance for:

a)

failing
to submit the annual certification; or

b)

knowingly
submitting a false certification.

8.

Bars a telecommunications provider that fails to annually certify
compliance from receiving:

a)

any
state or local monies to develop or support new or existing critical
telecommunications infrastructure; and

b)

federal
monies that are subject to distribution by state or local governments to develop
or support new or existing critical telecommunications infrastructure.

9.

Defines
critical telecommunications infrastructure
as all
physical broadband infrastructure and equipment that:

a)

supports
the transmission of information of a user's choosing, regardless of the
transmission medium or technology employed;

b)

connects
to a network that is owned by a publicly regulated utility and that allows the
end user to engage in communications, including service provided directly to
the public or to the classes of uses as to be effectively available directly to
the public; and

c)

contains
at least one microchip.

10.

Defines

telecommunications provider
as any public or private corporation that
offers telecommunications services.

11.

Defines

telecommunications services
and
foreign adversary
.

12.

Designates
this legislation as the
Secure Telecommunications Act of 2026
.

13.

Contains
a purpose statement.

14.

Becomes
effective on January 1, 2027.

Amendments Adopted by
Committee

�

Makes technical changes.

Senate Action

PS�������� 2/11/26�������� DPA������ 4-3-0

Prepared by Senate Research

March 10, 2026

KJA/hk

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
SB1046 - 572R - S Ver

Senate Engrossed

telecommunications
infrastructure; equipment requirements

State of Arizona

Senate

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

SENATE BILL 1046

AN
ACT

amending title 18, Arizona Revised Statutes,
by adding chapter 8; relating to information technology.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

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

Section
1.
1. Title
18, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding chapter 8, to read:

CHAPTER
8

PROHIBITED
TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE

ARTICLE
1. GENERAL PROVISIONS

START_STATUTE
18-801.

Definitions

In this chapter, unless the context otherwise
requires:

1. "Critical telecommunications
infrastructure" means all physical broadband infrastructure and equipment
that
meet all of the following requirements:

(
a
)
Support the transmission of information of a user's choosing,
regardless of the transmission medium or technology employed
.

(
b
)
Connect to a network
that is owned by a publicly
regulated utility and that allows the end user to engage in communications,
including service provided directly to the public or to the classes of uses as
to be effectively available directly to the public.

(
c
) Contain at
least one microchip.

2. "Foreign adversary"
Means The people's republic of China.

3. "Telecommunications
provider" means any corporation, public or private, that
offers telecommunications services.

4. "Telecommunications
services" has the same meaning prescribed in section 9-581.

END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE
18-802.

Critical telecommunications infrastructure; prohibited equipment;
replacement; notification

A. A critical telecommunications
infrastructure that is located within or that serves this state must be
constructed without including any equipment that is manufactured by a
foreign adversary.

B. A critical telecommunications
infrastructure that is located within or that serves this state must be
constructed without having any equipment that is manufactured in or by,
including any equipment whose critical or necessary components are manufactured
in or by, a foreign adversary, a state-owned enterprise of a foreign
adversary, a company that is domiciled within a foreign adversary or a company
that is owned by
A foreign adversary or w
here a foreign adversary
is entitled to control
the COMPANY by the company's governing documents, a foreign adversary state-owned
enterprise or a foreign adversary-domiciled company.

C. A critical telecommunications
infrastructure that operates within or that serves this state, including any
critical telecommunications infrastructure that is not permanently disabled,
must remove and replace all equipment that is prohibited by this section with
equipment that is not prohibited by this section.

D. A telecommunications provider that
removes, discontinues or replaces any prohibited telecommunications equipment
or service is not required to obtain any additional permit from any state
agency or political subdivision of this state to remove, discontinue or replace
the telecommunications equipment or service if the state agency or political
subdivision of this state is properly notified of the necessary removal,
discontinuation or replacement and any replacement telecommunications equipment
is similar to the existing telecommunications equipment.

END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE
18-803.
Telecommunications providers; critical telecommunications
infrastructure; corporation commission oversight; violations; civil penalties;
prohibition on receiving state and federal monies

A. On or before January 1 of each
year, each telecommunications provider shall certify to the corporation
commission that all critical telecommunications infrastructure and equipment
within the telecommunications provider's operation do not use or provide any
telecommunications equipment or service that is prohibited by section 18-802.

B. A telecommunications provider that
violates this section is subject to a civil penalty of at least $10,000 per day
and not more than $100,000 per day of noncompliance with this section.

C. A telecommunications provider that
knowingly submits a false
certification pursuant to
subsection A of this section is subject to a civil penalty of at least $10,000
per day and not more than $100,000 per day of noncompliance.

D. A telecommunications provider that
fails to comply with this section is prohibited from receiving any state or
local monies to develop or support new or existing critical telecommunications
infrastructure and is prohibited from receiving any federal monies that are
subject to distribution by state or local governments to develop or support new
or existing critical telecommunications infrastructure.

END_STATUTE

Sec.
2.
2.
Purpose

The purpose of this act is to secure
Arizona's telecommunications grid and protect national security by eliminating
from Arizona's telecommunications grid telecommunications hardware and software
that come from foreign adversaries and sanctioned entities.

Sec.
3.
3.
Effective
date

This act is effective from and after
December 31, 2026.

Sec.
4.
4.
Short
title

This act shall be known and may be
cited as the "Secure Telecommunications Act of 2026".