PRIA Logo™
ColoradoHB26-11012026 Regular SessionHouse

Criminal Offenses Related to Critical Infrastructure Metals

Sponsored By: Byron Pelton (Republican), Cecelia Espenoza (Democratic), Matt Soper (Republican), William Lindstedt (Democratic)

Signed by Governor

Crimes, Corrections, & Enforcement

Personalized for You

How does this bill affect your finances?

Personalize government policy and PRIA will tell you what this bill means for your household, plus every other piece of legislation we track. PRIA reads each provision against your financial profile to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.

Free to download

Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

5 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 3 costs, 1 mixed.

Source contracts exempt some scrap buyers

Beginning July 1, 2026, qualifying infrastructure-metal purchases are exempt from the specified recordkeeping, possession, and record-making requirements. Buyers must have a written contract with the original source company. The contract must claim and affirm that the critical infrastructure material belongs to the buyer.

Scrap buyers face cash payment limits

Beginning July 1, 2026, covered Colorado buyers face limits on cash payments for critical infrastructure materials. The limit applies when buyers know or should know the material came from critical infrastructure. Cash is allowed only through a payment process that takes the seller's picture at payment. Burned or smoldered-off insulation establishes that the buyer should have known.

Scrap buyers face stricter record rules

Beginning July 1, 2026, Colorado extends covered scrap buyers' record and theft-alert duties to critical infrastructure materials. Buyers must record seller identity, identity checks, purchase date and place, and the item's description and quantity. Sellers must provide a sworn statement that they own the material or have the right to sell it. Buyers must keep transaction records for three years, seller-and-item images for 180 days, and theft-alert and employee-training records for 90 days. Buyers must use the required scrap theft alert system and show their register when law enforcement or municipal code enforcement requests it.

Metal transaction violations carry tiered penalties

For offenses committed on or after July 1, 2026, Colorado sets penalties for covered metal transaction violations. These cover register, theft-alert, payment, and transaction-record requirements, plus knowingly giving false register information. Amounts from $1,000 to less than $2,000 carry a class 1 misdemeanor; $2,000 or more carries a class 6 felony. Separately, recycling metal worth at least $0.50 per pound can be treated as commodity metal through an allowed inference. This replaces the prior rebuttable presumption: the inference is allowed, not required.

Infrastructure metal buyers face reporting duties

For offenses committed on or after July 1, 2026, knowingly possessing critical infrastructure material unlawfully is a crime. Covered material contains commodity metal, and its theft threatens life, safety, or the infrastructure's core function. Buyers discovering it in a noncritical load whose affidavit covers only noncritical material must report by the next business day's end. They must notify law enforcement or municipal code enforcement, set it aside, and not sell it while its status is checked. Knowingly failing to notify is a separate crime. Each offense is a class 2 misdemeanor below $1,000, a class 1 misdemeanor from $1,000 to less than $2,000, and a class 6 felony at $2,000 or more. Possession is not a violation when the buyer has an affidavit stating that the seller may lawfully transfer the infrastructure material.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Sponsors

  • Byron Pelton

    Republican • Senate

  • Cecelia Espenoza

    Democratic • House

  • Matt Soper

    Republican • House

  • William Lindstedt

    Democratic • Senate

Cosponsors

  • Bob Marshall

    Democratic • House

  • Julie McCluskie

    Democratic • House

  • Ryan Gonzalez

    Republican • House

  • Cathy Kipp

    Democratic • Senate

  • Cleave Simpson

    Republican • Senate

  • Dylan Roberts

    Democratic • Senate

  • Iman Jodeh

    Democratic • Senate

  • Judy Amabile

    Democratic • Senate

  • James Coleman

    Democratic • Senate

  • Lisa Frizell

    Republican • Senate

  • Mike Weissman

    Democratic • Senate

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 100 • No: 14

Senate vote • 4/7/2026

Third reading: Bill

Yes: 33 • No: 2

Senate vote • 4/1/2026

Refer House Bill 26-1101 to the Committee of the Whole.

Yes: 6 • No: 1

House vote • 3/27/2026

Third reading: Bill

Yes: 54 • No: 7

House vote • 2/24/2026

Refer House Bill 26-1101, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole.

Yes: 7 • No: 4

Actions Timeline

  1. Governor Signed

    5/7/2026House

  2. Signed by the Speaker of the House

    5/1/2026House

  3. Signed by the President of the Senate

    5/1/2026Senate

  4. Sent to the Governor

    5/1/2026House

  5. Senate Third Reading Passed - No Amendments

    4/7/2026Senate

  6. Senate Second Reading Passed - No Amendments

    4/6/2026Senate

  7. Senate Committee on Judiciary Refer Unamended to Senate Committee of the Whole

    4/1/2026Senate

  8. Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Judiciary

    3/30/2026Senate

  9. House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments

    3/27/2026House

  10. House Second Reading Special Order - Passed with Amendments - Floor

    3/26/2026House

  11. House Second Reading Laid Over Daily - No Amendments

    2/27/2026House

  12. House Committee on Judiciary Refer Amended to House Committee of the Whole

    2/24/2026House

  13. Introduced In House - Assigned to Judiciary

    2/3/2026House

Bill Text

Related Bills

Back to State Legislation