The bill would create a new state jail felony offense for the unauthorized possession of a catalytic converter, establish a presumption of an authorized possession under certain circumstances, and increase the penalty to a third degree felony in the case of a previous conviction, for engaging in certain conduct constituting conspiracy, or for the possession of a firearm during the commission of the offense. The bill would make criminal mischief a state jail felony if the amount of pecuniary loss is less than $30,000 and the property is a motor vehicle that is damaged, destroyed, or tampered with during the removal or attempted removal of a catalytic converter. The bill would make theft a state jail felony if the cost of replacing the property stolen is less than $30,000 and is a catalytic converter and would increase the penalty to the next higher category if the defendant possessed a firearm during the commission of the offense. The bill would make both the state jail felony criminal mischief offense relating to a catalytic converter and the new state jail felony offense for unauthorized possession of a catalytic convertor subject to a penalty enhancement if the offense was committed or conspired to be committed while engaging in organized criminal activity. The bill would create a Class A misdemeanor offense for a metal recycling entity that intentionally or knowingly fails to maintain certain records when purchasing or otherwise acquiring a catalytic converter.
Creating a new offense and increasing the penalty for an existing offense may result in additional demands upon state and local correctional resources due to a possible increase in the number of individuals placed under supervision in the community or sentenced to a term of confinement.
In fiscal year 2022, 35,436 individuals were arrested, 5,420 individuals were placed on adult community supervision, 1,203 individuals were placed on juvenile probation supervision, 2,107 individuals were admitted into an adult state correctional institution, and 5 individuals were admitted into a juvenile state correctional facility for a theft offense. It is unknown how many of these cases involved a catalytic converter.
In fiscal year 2022, 11,389 individuals were arrested, 1,203 individuals were placed on adult community supervision, 819 individuals were placed on juvenile probation supervision, 133 individuals were admitted into an adult state correctional institution, and 4 individuals were admitted into a juvenile state correctional facility for a criminal mischief offense. It is unknown how many of these cases involved a catalytic converter.
The impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources cannot be determined due to the lack of statewide data necessary to identify cases of criminal mischief or theft which involved a catalytic converter.