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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh Legislature, Second Regular Session
AMENDED
ABOR;
foreign countries; restrictions; penalties
(NOW: ABOR; research security policy)
Purpose
Requires the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) to require each public university to adopt a research security policy that promotes a security culture, furthers national security interests and mitigates threats to the integrity and conduct of the public university's research against malign foreign influence. Outlines processes that a research security policy must include and reporting requirements on ABOR relating to the research security policy.
Background
ABOR exercises the powers necessary for the effective governance and administration of the institutions under ABOR's control. ABOR may adopt, and authorize each university to adopt, regulations, policies, rules or measures as are deemed necessary and may delegate any part of ABOR's authority for the administration and governance of those institutions to ABOR's committees, university presidents or the presidents' designees, or any other entities under ABOR's control (A.R.S. § 15-1626).
The federal CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 requires institutions to prohibit covered individuals who participate in malign foreign talent recruitment programs from working on projects supported by federal research and development awards. Each federal research agency must establish a policy that requires each higher education institution applying for a federal research and development award to certify that each covered individual employed by the higher education institution is aware of the requirements and complies with the prohibition on participating in a malign foreign talent recruitment program. A malign foreign talent recruitment program means: 1) any program, position or activity that includes monetary or in-kind compensation, whether or not directly sponsored by the foreign country, to the targeted individual, whether directly or indirectly stated in the arrangement, contract, or other documentation at issue, in exchange for specified actions or services; or 2) a program that is sponsored by a foreign country of concern, an entity based in a foreign country of concern or specified academic institutions and foreign talent recruitment programs (42 U.S.C. §§ 19231; 19232; and 19237).
Foreign adversary nation means a country that is: 1) identified by the U.S. Director of National Intelligence as a country that poses a risk to the national security of the United States in each of the three most recent Threat Assessments; or 2) determined to be a foreign adversary by the U.S. Department of Commerce (A.R.S. § 33-443).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Requires ABOR to require each public university to establish, adopt and post on the public university's website a research security policy.
2. Specifies that each public university's adopted research security policy must:
a) safeguard the public university's research;
b) promote a security culture;
c) further national security interests;
d) mitigate potential threats to the public university's research from any foreign adversary nation;
e) comply with all applicable legal, regulatory and contractual standards and requirements for securing and protecting the public university's academic research enterprise, including any research that involves the public university, the public university's campuses or the public university's internal components;
f) promote a culture of compliance that is consistent with federal regulations to ensure that the public university maintains eligibility for federal funding, including federal risk mitigation requirements pertaining to standardized disclosures, cybersecurity, foreign travel security, insider threats and export controls;
g) establish processes to regularly update the public university's research security policy, including processes to ensure compliance with policy and reporting within the policy; and
h) establish processes to identify and address compliance concerns at the public university that are consistent with the public university's research security policy, including any training that the public university will provide.
3. Requires ABOR, on October 1 of each year, to submit a report to the Governor, Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives, and provide a copy of the report to the Secretary of State, that includes:
a) information and details on each of the public university's adopted research security policy and related practices, protocols and strategies;
b) information demonstrating how each public university is complying with applicable state and federal laws to promote a safe and secure research environment, protect national security and American intellectual property and defend against any foreign adversary nation; and
c) the total number of grants, gifts or donations that each public university received from a foreign country in the preceding year that exceeded $250,000.
4. Makes technical and conforming changes.
5. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Amendments Adopted by Committee
· Adopted the strike-everything amendment.
Senate Action
ED 2/11/26 DPA/SE 5-2-0
Prepared by Senate Research
February 25, 2026
MH/KP/ci