New Law Mandates Catalytic Converter Marking and Imposes Strict Theft Penalties.
This Act aims to drastically reduce catalytic converter theft by requiring mandatory identification marking on new vehicles and establishing a grant program to mark existing ones. It imposes strict federal penalties for theft and trafficking, and bans cash payments for these parts, making illegal resale much harder. This should save vehicle owners significant money and inconvenience associated with frequent thefts.
Key points
New vehicles must have catalytic converters permanently marked with an identification number linked to the vehicle's VIN, aiding law enforcement in tracking stolen parts.
A federal grant program ($7 million funding) is established to help fund the stamping of existing vehicle converters in high-theft areas, often at low or no cost to the owner.
Businesses purchasing used catalytic converters must keep detailed records of sellers and vehicles for two years and are prohibited from using cash or cryptocurrency for transactions.
Theft or trafficking of stolen catalytic converters is now a new federal crime, punishable by up to 5 years in prison.
Introduced
Citizen Poll