ST. GEORGE — A bill to address the rise in catalytic converter thefts that have increased by nearly 600% in Utah since 2018 is headed to the governor’s desk after being passed by the Senate on Tuesday evening.
To address the spike in catalytic converter thefts, the Property Theft Amendments bill, officially designated HB 38 in the 2022 Utah Legislature, outlines additional penalties for catalytic converter theft and mandates more regulation of the devices.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox, of Ogden, said during a committee hearing that he introduced the revised bill after the Utah Attorney General’s Office approached him and advised they were running an urban mining sting operation targeting the theft of catalytic converters.
The original bill was introduced in 2021 as the Catalytic Converter Theft Amendment bill, and this year the legislation was changed to the Property Theft Amendments, wherein the wording throughout the bill expands beyond catalytic converter thefts to list “certain types of property.”
The most striking change with HB 38 is that it would require a tracking system to allow pawn shops and other retailers to enter the serial numbers of catalytic converters they receive for resale into a database, much like the list of property that is sent to police departments from pawn shops.
If the original owner provides law enforcement with the serial number of their stolen device, police could cross-check it with the database to see if it’s been listed for resale and potentially determine who brought it in.
The bill also would provide for certain reporting requirements to the multi-agency joint strike force, and law enforcement can also require a pawnbroker to hold an item for 30 days to provide the owner with more time to prove the converter is theirs so they can recover their property.
Wilcox also said there were two major issues relating to these thefts. The first relates to the purpose of the converter, while the second concerns the costs associated with replacing a catalytic converter, since it contains several precious metals, including palladium, rhodium and platinum.
Catalytic converters are designed to clean the air emitted from the exhaust, Wilcox said, which is particularly important in light of the pollution along the Wasatch Front. Moreover, the equipment is very expensive to replace – as much as several thousand dollars – so this is not only an environmental issue but a financial issue as well, he said.
The costs have hit Utah families hard and many have fallen victim to this type of criminal activity across the state, Wilcox added. Thieves often target vehicles parked along streets, driveways or apartment parking lots, which is one of the more troubling aspects connected with this type of theft, he said.
The costs have been even higher for the business sector, and many have been hit hard by this type of criminal activity statewide.
During the committee hearing, several representatives mentioned their own personal experiences relating to converter thefts, and several involved low emissions vehicles, which is one of the most sought-after vehicle types that criminals look for, along with SUVs and trucks since they tend to have equipment that is higher-quality, according to a report documented on this auto insurance website.
Washington County is not immune to this type of thievery – gauging from the number of thefts reported throughout the region last year, including one report by St. George News in April 2021 outlining a spike in catalytic converter thefts reported throughout Southern Utah, as well as further south into Mesquite, Nevada.
During the urban mining operation that took place up north, Wilcox said investigators discovered there was a “foreign gang” targeting northern Utah. For many of these suspects, he said, the converters are used as currency, similar to the proceeds made from drugs. The task force also determined these suspects were cutting the converters off and then shipping them to Malaysia because of the precious metals they contain, he said.
The fact the legislation is needed is troubling as well, he said, adding, “This is a problem that we never thought would be a problem.”
The bill passed the third reading unanimously in the Senate on Tuesday evening and is on its way to the governor’s desk.
Check out all of St. George News’ coverage of the 2022 Utah Legislature here.
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