The bills listed below were supported by State Armor Action in 2024.
Arizona
Senate Bill 1638 requires the department of emergency and military affairs to assess the threats to critical infrastructure and supply chains in Arizona related to a Pacific Conflict and to prepare for and mitigate those threats.
Two bills were vetoed in Arizona. Senate Bill 1340 pension divestment and House Bill 2504 a bill to prohibit Chinese genetic sequencers along with reimbursement for organ transplants in China.
Colorado
Senate Bill 151 deregulates the process to remove sanctioned (Huawei) communications equipment and requires communications infrastructure providers to either certify they do not have such equipment or certify their participation in the federal “rip-and-replace” program along with their progress on removal.
Indiana
House Bill 1183 bars entities affiliated with China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia and Venezuela from acquiring or renting agricultural land — and mineral, riparian and water rights (list of applicable countries kept by the U.S. Department of Commerce). It also prohibits purchases and leases of land in a 10-mile radius of a military installation. That provision applies to entities from China, Iran, North Korea, Russia and any other countries designated “threats to critical infrastructure.”
House Bill 1179 requires a state educational institution to disclose certain foreign gifts and contracts received or entered into after December 31, 2020. It requires a commission to establish and maintain a website for accessing information about disclosed gifts and contracts. It also directs the board of trustees of an institution to adopt a policy prohibiting the transfer, licensing, or sublicensing of intellectual property developed using the institution’s resources.
House Bill 1120 prohibits state entities from entering into sister city or cooperative agreements with a city, town, province, county, school, college or university in a foreign adversary nation. Though these agreements are billed as ways to exchange culture and goodwill, countries like the PRC use them to exert soft power and try to influence American policymakers.
Idaho
House Bill 670 prohibits health insurance providers in Idaho from issuing reimbursements for organ transplant operations performed in China or other countries known to have participated in forced organ harvesting from political prisoners and other persecuted people. The bill also prohibits hospitals and medical research facilities from using genetic sequencing machines or software that come from foreign adversaries.
House Bill 665 ensures Idaho’s public investment dollars should not be used to fund our foreign adversaries. This proposed legislation is a first step in divesting such investments by identifying how many public investment dollars are currently invested in foreign adversaries. This legislation required a report from the state treasurer no later than January 2025 showing such amounts.
Kansas
House Resolution 6034strengthens sister state ties between Kansas and Taiwan and reaffirms support for Taiwan’s international participation. It also commemorates the 35th anniversary of sister state ties between Kansas and Taiwan.
House Bill 2711 requires stage-managed funds to divest from countries of concern like China and prohibits investments and deposits with a bank or company domiciled in a country of concern.
Two bills were vetoed in Kansas. Senate Bill 172 prohibited land and other property purchases by foreign adversaries. Senate Bill 271 phased out public procurement and use of Chinese drones and additionally prohibited public procurement of any foreign adversary products and services.
Maine
Legislative Document 877 requires that any company that submits a bid or proposal for a contract with the State of Maine for goods or services must certify that the company is not owned or operated by the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). It also bans companies owned or operated by the PRC government from bidding on or submitting proposals for a contract with any entity – public or private – that directly or indirectly receives state funding.
Missouri
The Missouri State Employees Retirement System (MOSERS) Board, led by State Treasurer Vivek Malik, voted to fully divest any state-controlled assets held in China within 12 months of the motion’s passage (with some designated exceptions). It also prohibits MOSERS from making any future investments in China.
Governor’s EO 24-01 bans the sale of agriculture land to CCP with in 1o miles of a military installation.
Nebraska
Legislative Bill 1300 prepares Nebraska’s supply chains and critical infrastructure for the risk of a Pacific conflict. It directs the Department of Administrative Services and the State Treasurer to audit procurement supply chains and state-managed funds to assess the risk of disruption in the event of a Pacific conflict, and to create a contingency plan to mitigate the risk of supply chain disruption. The Act creates the Committee on Pacific Conflict to assess current vulnerabilities in Nebraska in the event of a Pacific conflict, and to develop a plan to address outstanding risks.
Legislative Bill 1301 bans corporations and individuals from foreign adversaries like China from purchasing any land or real estate in Nebraska or from leasing it for more than five years. Previous laws had restricted this ban to only within 10 miles of a military installation. This law expands the ban to cover the entire state.
Tennessee
Senate Bill 2095 requires all public institutions of higher education to implement a research security policy which would protect its research from undue foreign influence or theft by foreign adversaries. The institutions were required to implement their policy by January 1, 2025, and post it publicly on its website.
House Bill 0040 prohibits nonresident aliens and foreign entities from purchasing or acquiring property in the state if they reside in a foreign country that bans American citizens or entities from acquiring property in their country.
Utah
Senate Bill 135 bans state law enforcement and state agencies from the purchase of drones manufactured in adversary nations, such as DJI, a China-owned and operated drone company. DJI, the most popular drone brand in America, integrates CCP-controlled software within its products, acting as a backdoor for the CCP to carry out espionage campaigns. These drones and others with similar vulnerabilities have been widely used by state and local law enforcement in the U.S.
House Bill 404 bans all procurement contracts with adversary owned and affiliated nations, which will prevent these entities from exerting undue influence on state governments and agencies. HB404 also bans local municipalities from entering into sister city agreements with foreign adversaries, such as cities and municipalities located in China.
Senate Bill 262 prohibits an insurer of accident and health insurance from covering a human organ transplant under suspicious circumstances, such as when organ transplant operations were performed in China, or any other nation that is known to have taken part in forced organ harvesting operations.
Oklahoma
Senate Bill 1705 protects Oklahoma agricultural land by prohibiting foreign adversary governments or state-owned enterprise from purchasing real property in Oklahoma and allows foreign citizens to own real property in Oklahoma if an American could own the same real property in the person’s home country.
EO 2024-11 prepares Oklahoma for the fallout of a Pacific conflict. It directs the Office of Management and Enterprise services to audit state supply chains and critical infrastructure for the effects of such a conflict and produce a report on the same, and it directs state financial managers to prepare to divest from assets in China.
Texas
EO GA 47 takes action to counter transnational repression. The order directs Texas’ Department of Public Safety to pursue charges in instances of transnational repression and creates a reporting channel for potential acts of transnational repression. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first official action to counter transnational repression.
EO GA 48 addresses vulnerabilities in state procurements, ethics and reporting, critical infrastructure, and higher education. Texas state agencies are instructed to no longer procure Chinese technologies. State personnel are restricted from accepting gifts from foreign adversaries and to report offers of the same, and state employees, including in higher education, are required to attest they do not have continuous connections to foreign adversary governments. Participation in Chinese talent programs are explicitly prohibited. Background checks are required for anyone in state government who is researching on or having access to critical infrastructure.
EO GA 49 prepares Texas for an attack upon critical infrastructure. Texas’ Division of Emergency Management is directed to convene a task force to survey vulnerabilities of state governments, local governments, and critical infrastructure in the event of an Indo-Pacific conflict. Annual tabletop exercises are to be convened to simulate an attack upon Texas’ electric grid and other critical infrastructure. A secure emergency communications channel is created for communications during such a crisis.
Gov. Abbott Divestment Letter directs all Texas investing entities to cease any new investments in China and to divest existing investments at the first available opportunity. Governor Abbott previously instructed the University of Texas/Texas A&M Investment Management Company to divest from China.
