Bill

HB 2187

84(R) - 2015
House Environmental Regulation
House Environmental Regulation

Vote Recommendation

Neutral
  • Neutral
  • Neutral
  • Neutral
  • Neutral
  • Neutral

Author(s)

Wayne Smith

Co-Author(s)

Byron Cook
Geanie Morrison
Dade Phelan

Bill Caption

Relating to the regulation of metal recycling entities; imposing an administrative penalty.

Fiscal Notes

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

Bill Analysis

HB 2187, if passed, would make a number of changes to the Occupation code regarding the metal recycling regime. A number of sections would be amended. These include Section 1956.001 expanding definitions, namely for “copper-brass” materials, and “lead material” and Section 1956.033 enlarging the reporting requirements to include additional documentation requirements.

Most notable is Section 1956.002. Here the bill would make two changes. One procedural change would be to enlarge the number of committee members on the advisory committee from twelve to fifteen, and introduce specific requirements for these new committee members.

More substantive is the enlargement of the exemption to include telecommunications providers, as they are defined in code. The bill would "exempt from statutory provisions regulating metal recycling entities a purchase of regulated material from a telecommunications provider, a cable service provider, and a video service provider, as defined by specified statutory provisions."

HB 2187 also makes some other modifications, particularly by adding a new section (1956.0381) which regards payments made by metal recycling entities, and new section (1956.041) which introduces an administrative penalty for violations.

Vote Recommendation Notes

Ultimately, this legislation is designed to address the growing issue of copper theft in Texas. Copper thieves will break into facilities to steal as much copper as possible and then sell it to recyclers for far beyond market value. While residential homes and and a variety of businesses can be victims of this crime, telecommunications providers tend to be the primary victims because of the vast amount of copper used in their industry.

On the one hand this bill seeks to curb copper theft by making it more difficult for thieves to get away with selling their stolen goods. In so doing, this would also further regulate legitimate transactions between willing buyers and sellers. It is unclear that making legitimate transactions more difficult is the best way to curb illegitimate transactions. 

On the other hand, this bill would exempt telecommunications providers from some of the restrictions. This makes sense since that industry tends to be the primary victim of this crime and this bill would make it easier for them to sell their own property. 

Considering the context of the issue this legislation seeks to address, and balancing the fact that this bill would add some regulation and remove other regulation, we are neutral on HB 2187. 

Organizations Supporting

Comcast
Sprint
Texas Association of Realtors
Texas Impact