LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Kentucky Senate passed a bill Tuesday targeting catalytic converter thieves.Â
Senate Bill 114Â raises the record-keeping standard for people who buy these converters.
Thieves can access the car part with valuable metals by going underneath a vehicle and cutting it out in a few minutes. It can be resold for up to $2,000.
The bill amends KRS 433.890 to require purchasers of catalytic converters to keep a record that contains proof of ownership. The bill would also establish that a failure to maintain a register of metal and objects containing metals a Class B misdemeanor, along with establishing unlawful acts relating to the purchase of disposition of metals is a Class B misdemeanor.Â
"It should be super easy to identify who comes in and sells a $2,000 piece of a car that's clearly been cut out of a vehicle," Kentucky Sen. Whitney Westerfield, a Republican and the bill's sponsor, said last week.
Typically, police said thieves take catalytic converters from cars or trucks in strip malls, parking garages and even driveways.
Louisville Metro Police reported more than 1,300 catalytic converters were stolen within the first 10 months of 2021.
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