St. Paul, MN -- This evening, the Minnesota House of Representatives voted to crack down on catalytic converter theft. According to the insurance industry, Minnesota is seeing the fifth-highest level of thefts nationally.
“We all know someone who has been a victim of catalytic converter theft,” said Rep. John Huot (DFL-Rosemount), a co-author of the legislation. “Law enforcement officials are working as hard as they can to catch these bad actors, but the way our current laws are set, they cannot arrest their way out of the problem. I was glad to cast my vote today to save Minnesotans thousands of dollars, major disruptions to their lives, and make it easier to catch bad actors across the state.”
HF 30 seeks to crack down on the theft of catalytic converters by prohibiting anyone from possessing a used, unattached catalytic converter unless the owner has the vehicle identification number (VIN) for the vehicle, and the date the converter was removed from the vehicle. It prohibits the sale and purchase of catalytic converters by anyone other than registered scrap metal dealers, and would impose a fine of up to $10,000 for unlawful possession and sale.
The bill is also moving in the Minnesota Senate.
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