By WIBW TV
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - The Kansas Attorney General has decided that catalytic converters are covered under the Scrap Metal Theft Reduction Act and are required to be reported when sold to a scrap metal dealer.
Attorney General Derek Schmidt says catalytic converters are covered under the Scrap Metal Theft Reduction Act, indicating that transactions that involve their purchase by a scrap metal dealer are regulated and required to be reported to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation database.
According to AG Schmidt, the Act was enacted by the Legislature in 2015, however, due to numerous amendments in recent years and a lack of funding, the transactional database only became operational in 2020. He said it is designed to help law enforcement prevent the theft of metals by tracking the sales of potentially stolen metals to scrap metal dealers.
Schmidt said a wave of catalytic converter thefts has increased interest in using the Act, but questions were raised about whether catalytic converters, which are not mentioned in the Act, are covered. He said he decided they are due to their containment of certain metals that are specifically covered.