Governor Hobbs Again Endangers National Security with Veto of Legislation to Protect Arizona Military Bases from Chinese Threats

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                        

Tuesday, June 3, 2025

Governor Hobbs Again Endangers National Security with Veto

of Legislation to Protect Arizona Military Bases from Chinese Threats

PHOENIX, ARIZONA— Senate Majority Leader Janae Shamp is condemning Governor Katie Hobbs for again endangering state and national security with her latest veto of legislation protecting Arizona military bases from Chinese threats.

SB 1109, sponsored by Majority Leader Shamp, would have banned the People's Republic of China from purchasing, owning, or acquiring land in Arizona.

In recent years, China has acquired large tracts of land and other property near essential installations, including military bases, critical infrastructure, and sensitive corporate areas, with a goal of conducting surveillance and collecting data on important U.S. assets, as well as to monitor the leaders and workers who manage those assets.  By having access to this land, China can also position autonomous arsenal, such as drone swarms, and would have the ability to launch an attack on military bases or other sensitive areas considered critical to national security in the event of a conflict.

"With every politically motivated veto of public safety legislation put on her desk by Republicans, Governor Katie Hobbs continues to violate her oath of office she swore to uphold by endangering the lives and livelihoods of all Arizonans," said Majority Leader Shamp. "SB 1109 was a commonsense security measure to ensure enemies of the United States would not have easy access to our military bases and critical infrastructure to carry out harm. Luke Air Force Base recently faced this very real danger. It is utterly insane that Arizona's top elected official would rather be an obstructionist against safeguarding our citizens from threats than to sign legislation giving our state a fighting chance at proactively preventing attacks. Hobbs is a total disgrace. I pray Arizonans are paying attention to her self-serving, hyper-partisan track record because the future of our state is in jeopardy so long as she continues on this trajectory."

Earlier this year, Hobbs vetoed other significant public safety legislation which would have protected Arizona communities from harm and strengthened national security. SB 1027, the Secure Telecommunications Act of 2025, would have banned any critical telecommunications infrastructure within the State of Arizona from using equipment manufactured by a foreign adversary. SB 1066 would have prohibited land in Arizona from being conveyed to a hostile foreign entity. 

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For more information, contact:

Kim Quintero

Director of Communications | Arizona State Senate Republican Caucus

kquintero@azleg.gov