Recertification And Theft Of Catalytic Converters

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. The act extends the scope of the current laws addressing commodity metal theft to include theft of catalytic converters. The act also expands the scope of the duties of the task force to include consideration of catalytic converter theft. For the purposes of the existing criminal statute prohibiting the operation of motor vehicle chop shops, the act adds catalytic converters to the definition of "major component motor vehicle part". (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)