Sponsored by:
Senator RICHARD J. CODEY
District 27 (Essex and Morris)
Senator NICHOLAS P. SCUTARI
District 22 (Middlesex, Somerset and Union)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators Bramnick and Madden
SYNOPSIS
Requires vehicle identification number be stamped on catalytic converters of motor vehicles.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning motor vehicles and supplementing Title 39 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Every manufacturer of vehicles sold within this State, individually or as part of a group, shall stamp or engrave the vehicle identification number onto each catalytic converter installed in each motor vehicle sold within the State.
2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the third month after the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, theft of catalytic converters has dramatically increased in recent years. In 2019, approximately 3,400 claims of catalytic converter theft were filed. In 2020, the number of claims more than tripled.
Under this bill, car manufacturers would be required to engrave or stamp the vehicle identification number onto the catalytic converter of a motor vehicle sold within the State.
It is the sponsor’s belief that this bill is necessary given the increasing number of thefts, and that once scrap yards and would-be thieves become aware of the new requirements, thefts will decrease.