Lawmakers introduce bill aimed at cutting down on catalytic converter thefts

ATLANTA — Veteran auto mechanic Jerry Matthews cranked the shiny new Toyota Tundra pickup truck sitting in his Sylvan Road repair shop yard.

The engine started then roared and rumbled more loudly than usual.

When he turned off the truck, Matthews explained why. A thief had cut off the pickup’s catalytic converter.

“Everybody’s coming outside, crank their cars up,” Matthews said. “It’s loud, and like I said, we’re seeing it a lot lately. I’m just going to round it off. Maybe we see seven or eight cars a week, and that’s a lot.”

Georgia has seen a spike in catalytic converter thefts as thieves seek sell them at recycling yards. The platinum, palladium and rhodium are worth around $300.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s terrible,” Matthews said.

TRENDING STORIES:

• Gunman in custody after SWAT standoff on Greyhound bus shuts down I-85 in Gwinnett County for hours
• Bartow woman reels in quite the catch, sets Georgia record
• Customers scammed on Zelle banking app have virtually no fraud protection, consumer advocates say

Now some Georgia lawmakers are seeking to make it illegal to sell used, detached catalytic converters anywhere across the state, with a few exceptions like if you own the car it came from.

It’s part of a much larger and complicated recycling industry bill now before a state House subcommittee.

Cornelia State Sen. Bo Hatchett, (R), thinks the time is right to have this provision included.

“And I think unintentionally, this is very ripe right now, because just this past weekend, there’s been a lot of reports about catalytic converters theft in several neighborhoods around here and across Georgia,” Hatchett told the subcommittee.

Lawmakers still have a lot of questions about the language in the bill, and it will probably face some changes before it comes up in the House for a vote.

Jerry Matthews thinks the bill is a good idea.

“It should make an impact, because now you’ve got to regulate who’s buying them, who’s selling them, so it’s going to put a responsibility on where are they coming from,” Matthews said.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Gunman in custody after SWAT standoff on Greyhound bus shuts down I-85 in Gwinnett County for hours The incident prompted a SWAT response and shut down the highway between Indian Trail and Beaver Ruin roads for hours in both direction.

©2022 Cox Media Group