JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri lawmakers are pushing for legislation to combat catalytic converter thefts within the state.
State Rep. David Tyson Smith (D-Columbia) sponsors House Bill 2276, which unanimously cleared a House committee on Thursday.
The bill, according to its language, would require scrap metal shops to verify that potential sellers legally obtained any detached catalytic converter.
“I’m happy to see this bill move forward through the legislative process as part of a bipartisan
effort to clamp down on catalytic converter theft,” Smith said. “By making it much riskier to buy
a catalytic converter, we can dry up the market, and hopefully stop this issue that plagues car
owners in our state.”
Anyone who knowingly purchases or obtains a stolen catalytic converter could face a Class E felony.
According to St. Louis Public Radio, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department doesn’t specifically track catalytic converter thefts, but received more than 1,700 reports of theft involving motor vehicle parts last year. That marks around a 35% decrease from 2022.
Smith says his bill has bi-partisan support and would also enable the Missouri Department of Revenue to create a website for reporting records of catalytic converters.
The bill appears to need more progression in the Missouri House before it heads to the Senate.
