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Committee hears industry, recyclers and prosecutors on bill to strengthen protections for critical communications infrastructure
Summary
HB 2629 would restrict cash purchases and require stronger recordkeeping for scrap metal transactions and classify destruction of critical communications infrastructure as a felony; telecoms, recyclers and prosecutors described rising copper and fiber theft, public‑safety outages, and negotiation points for enforcement and evidence preservation.
Lawmakers heard extended testimony Jan. 27 on House Bill 2629, a measure aimed at protecting critical communications infrastructure by tightening scrap‑metal transaction rules, limiting cash payments, and creating penalties for destruction of communications systems.
Committee staff Megan Mulvihill summarized the bill’s core elements: prohibition on certain cash transactions for nonferrous metal, caps on cash purchases (current statute already limits certain cash purchases but the bill restricts the methods of payment), civil penalties up to loss of licensure for repeat violations, and a new crime of destruction of critical…
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