Committee hears technical fix to expand "critical infrastructure" definition to include wired communications and chemical facilities; civil‑liberties groups and

The House Committee on Judiciary opened a public hearing Wednesday, March 12, on House Bill 2,851, a bill that would alter the definition of "critical infrastructure" used in Oregon's domestic‑terrorism statutes to include terrestrial‑based cable or wire communications facilities; a dash‑1 amendment presented to the committee would add chemical manufacturing and distribution facilities as well.

Sponsors and industry witnesses described the amendment as a technical update that aligns the statute with the range of communications cable and wiring used in modern networks. "We regard this as a simple fix to some language in the statute," Brent Wolf of the Oregon Broadband Association said, explaining that the term "fiber optic" does not encompass copper, coaxial or other wired elements of communications plant.

Nut graf: Proponents told the committee the change clarifies the law to protect the physical components of wired communications networks — which, they said, can be critical for 911 and other public…