Wood County Sheriff praises bipartisan passage of crypto kiosk consumer-protection bill

Wood County Sheriff Shawn Becker told WFHR listeners on April 1 that a state bill to protect consumers using cryptocurrency kiosks has passed the state Senate 33–0 and now awaits the governor's signature.

Becker said he and other sheriffs testified in support of the bill and that lobbying and outreach by county officials helped get it scheduled for a floor vote. "It was quite an up-and-down day," he said, describing how the measure briefly disappeared from the schedule before advancing to a unanimous Senate vote.

The measure, as described by Becker on the air, would limit purchases at kiosk machines to $1,000 per day and require a 100% refund to victims who report a scam to law enforcement within 30 days. "This is a bill that protects people," Becker said, adding that the intent is not to restrict cryptocurrency broadly but to curb kiosk-related scams that often target seniors.

Becker credited local lawmakers and sheriffs' association lobbyists for help getting the bill to the floor; he named Pat Snyder and Sen. Jesse James as authors and sponsors referenced during the session. He said many sheriffs, county board members and other local officials made calls and sent texts to push the bill forward.

Until the governor signs the bill, the bill's provisions are not yet law. Becker said he hopes to attend a signing event if and when the governor schedules one.

The sheriff urged residents to continue reporting kiosk scams to law enforcement and stressed that consumer education remains an important part of preventing fraud.