New State Legislation to Rein In Catalytic Converter Thefts

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The new bill passed by Tennessee aims to curb rising catalytic converter thefts in the state. The new law will take effect on July 1. It must be noted that the state has been recently witnessing tremendous jump in the number of thefts of the material. The average monthly thefts had witnessed multi-fold jump from 282 in 2019 to 1,203 in 2020, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB).

According to the provisions of Senate Bill No.162, any person engaged in the business of buying or selling unattached catalytic converters as a single item and not as part of a scrapped motor vehicle shall give written notification to the chief of police and sheriff of each city and county in which the activity is carried on. Also, any person purchasing a used, detached catalytic converter must be a registered scrap metal dealer.

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The bill also restricts a scrap metal dealer from purchasing a used, detached catalytic converter, or any nonferrous metal part of such converter.

A violation of the law is a Class A misdemeanour, punishable only by fine. The seller of a used, detached catalytic converter that has been stolen will be made liable to repair and replace the converter.

The new law has been created after consultations with scrap metal professionals. It will ensure that detached catalytic converters sold to dealers originate from salvaged vehicles and not stolen from vehicles.