On February 22, Utah bill HB 404, the Public Entity Restrictions bill passed the full House with sweeping bipartisan support and is now before the Senate rules committee. Bill cosponsor Karianne Lisonbee has been committed to stopping taxpayer dollars from being used to purchase technology from CCP-owned companies. China Tech Threat (CTT) talked with Rep. Lisonbee about the need for this legislation and her warnings about the more than $34 million the state has already spent on restricted China tech:
“I am very concerned about the privacy of our individual citizens, their ability to control where their data goes, and who it goes to. We should also be very concerned about the amount of taxpayer money that is going to fund Chinese tech coming into Utah that is restricted at the federal level but not the state level. I think most Utah residents have no idea that Utah agencies or subsidies of the government have spent about $34 million on restricted Chinese tech. I think once our citizens now that is happening, they will also share their concern.”
Note, since this interview was conducted, CTT released updated research that found Utah continues to spend taxpayer money on risky technology, spending a combined $51,025,679 on restricted Chinese technology from Lenovo, Inc. and Lexmark, Inc. between 2018 and 2024.\
For more on HB 404, hear from bill sponsor Rep. Candice Pierucci here.