IN-DEPTH: Patchwork of State Laws Not Stopping Catalytic Converter Thefts, Say Industry Leaders

Deputy Jaime Moran from the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department engraves the catalytic converter of a vehicle with a traceable number in City of Industry, California, on July 14, 2021. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Scrap metal industry heads say the United States needs a universal solution to the theft of catalytic converters because a patchwork of laws is allowing the black market to continue to exist.

Institute of Scrap Recycling Industry (ISRI) Chief Lobbyist Billy Johnson said there needs to be a federal solution to catalytic converter thefts because thieves exploit gaps created by each state having its own laws.