AS PASSED BY COMMITTEE

AMENDED

KIYAHNA J. ARAZA

LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH ANALYST

TRANSPORTATION, TECHNOLOGY & MISSING CHILDREN COMMITTEE

Telephone: (602) 926-3171

ARIZONA STATE SENATE

RESEARCH STAFF

TO:                  MEMBERS OF THE SENATE

DATE:            February 20, 2024

SUBJECT:      Strike everything amendment to S.B. 1216, relating to online use

Purpose

            Establishes a state preemption on the regulation of, and prohibits monitoring, the personal online use or personal speech of a state employee.

Background

            An employee is an officer or employee of Arizona or any of its departments, commissions, agencies or boards and includes employees and officers of community college districts, school districts and counties of the state and law enforcement officers of a city or town but does not include officers or employees of a municipal corporation established for the purpose of reclamation and distribution of water and the generation of electricity (A.R.S. § 38-531).

             Except to the extent required in conjunction with an agency-approved research project or other agency-approved undertaking, an employee of an agency must not knowingly use
agency-owned or agency-leased computer equipment to access, download, print or store any information infrastructure files or services that depict nudity, sexual activity, sexual excitement or ultimate sexual acts. Agency approvals must be administered, in writing, by the agency head and are available for public inspection. An employee who violates the prohibition may be subject to discipline or dismissal.

            An agency is all offices, agencies, departments, boards, councils or commissions of the state, state universities, community college districts, legislative agencies and all departments or agencies of the Arizona Supreme Court or the court of appeals. Information infrastructure is telecommunications, cable and computer networks and includes the internet, the world wide web, UseNet, bulletin board systems, on-line systems and telephone networks (A.R.S. § 38-448).

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

Provisions

1. Establishes a state preemption on the regulation of the personal online use or speech of an employee of the state, a city, town or county or a political subdivision of the state.

2. Prohibits the state, a city, town or county or a political subdivision of the state from monitoring the personal online use or personal speech of an employee, unless the state, city, town, county or political subdivision suspects the employee of illegal activity.

3. Becomes effective on the general effective date.

Amendments Adopted by Committee

1. Specified that the state preemption and prohibition apply to the personal online use and personal speech, rather than online use and speech, of a state employee.

2. Adds an exception to the prohibition if the state, city, town, county or political subdivision suspects the employee of illegal activity.

3. Makes conforming changes.

Senate Action

TTMC             2/15/24      DPA/SE    5-1-1