Recertification And Theft Of Catalytic Converters

Section 1 of the bill requires the air quality control commission in the department of public health and environment to promulgate rules establishing:

• Evaluation procedures for aftermarket catalytic converters; and
• Procedures for the division of administration in the department of public health and environment (division) to use to certify aftermarket catalytic converters for installation and sale.

Section 2 states that on and after October 31, 2022, it is unlawful to install, sell, offer for sale, or advertise any used, recycled, or salvaged catalytic converter unless the catalytic converter is an aftermarket catalytic converter that has been certified for installation and sale by the division.For the purposes of regulating purchases of commodity metals and the commodities metals theft task force, section 3 amends the definition of "commodity metal" to include rhodium, palladium, or platinum-clad components of a catalytic converter. Current law requires every owner, keeper, or proprietor of a junk shop, junk store, salvage yard, or junk cart or other vehicle and every collector of or dealer in junk, salvage, or other secondhand property to keep a book or register detailing all transactions involving commodity metals and to comply with certain other requirements concerning transactions involving commodity metals. Current law also establishes the commodity metals theft task force (task force) and charges the task force with certain duties to address the theft of commodity metals. Section 1 of the bill extends the scope of such current laws addressing commodity metal theft to include theft of catalytic converters. Section 1 also expands the scope of the duties of the task force to include considerations of catalytic converter theft as well as theft of commodity metals.

For the purposes of the existing criminal statute prohibiting the operation of motor vehicle chop shops, section 4 section 2 adds catalytic converters to the definition of "major component motor vehicle part". Section 5 Section 3 requires each auto parts recycler to consult the national motor vehicle title information system for each catalytic converter that the auto parts recycler acquires from the recycling of a motor vehicle in order to determine whether the catalytic converter is stolen. any person that acquires 5 or more vehicles within any 12-month period for the purpose of dismantling, wrecking, shredding, compacting, crushing, or otherwise destroying vehicles for reclaimable parts or scrap metals, including catalytic converters, to report all such vehicles to the national motor vehicle title information system within 5 days after acquiring the vehicles to ensure that the vehicles are not stolen.

(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)