An agency official said the average replacement cost is $2,600, and some popular theft targets like the 2007-2009 Toyota Prius can cost up to $3,300 to repair.Ĭosts go beyond repairs, too. last year, resulting in about $1.5 billion in repairs. The Minnesota Commerce Fraud Bureau said there were around 600,000 to 700,000 thefts in the U.S. The tracking program would cost $298,000 a year. The Department of Public Safety would also conduct audits of scrap dealers to ensure compliance with the tracking rules. The Senate version now ready for another House vote exempts some businesses from a sales wait period. Paul and Minneapolis saw around 4,000 reports - more than the entire country just a few years before.īeyond the converter labeling and tracking requirement, dealers would not be allowed to pay cash for converters and would have to hold on to them for five days before doing anything with them. Minnesota had just 40 reports of converter thefts in 2018, according to the Insurance Federation of Minnesota. They can be quickly removed from the bottom of a vehicle using power tools.Īccording to state law enforcement, Minnesota ranks third in the nation for catalytic converter thefts, behind California and Texas.
Marty noted in an earlier committee hearing that rhodium was worth $26,000 an ounce last year - more than 12 times the value of gold.Ĭonverters are easy to steal, too. They contain platinum, palladium and rhodium, and can sell for anywhere from $400 to $1,500.
Ruth Richardson, DFL-Mendota Heights, but because the Senate changed the bill to accommodate concerns from scrap sellers, the House will have to approve it once again before it can head to the governor’s desk to be signed into law.Ĭatalytic converters are auto components designed to scrub pollutants from auto exhaust. Members of the House voted 113-15 last week to approve a version sponsored by Rep. The Senate approved the bill on a 40-25 vote on Thursday. “The reason that this legislation would be effective is you no longer need to prove the theft because it would be simply a crime to possess a used converter that doesn’t have the proper identification,” he said.
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