STATEWIDE — A new law to curb catalytic converter thefts takes effect this Monday, August 8.
The law aims to curb the theft of catalytic converters and provide a new process for people to protect theirs. The bill is called, “An Act Governing the Sale, Purchase, Removal, Transport, and Disposal of Catalytic Converters Removed from Motor Vehicles, Governing Scrap Metal Processors and Creating the Motor Vehicle Services Fund.”
“The bill that we created is not perfect it’s not going to cure the whole problem, but we created a starting point,” says Senator Jeffrey Timberlake, R-Androscoggin.
The law requires new and used car dealerships to imprint a vehicle’s VIN number on its catalytic converter. Individuals who need to remove their catalytic converter for any reason must mark their converter with the car’s VIN number as well.
This is one-way buyers can track the car to the seller’s converter.
He says over the summer the transportation committee in the state house reviewed the bill and had several groups like Maine State Police and sheriff departments come together to figure out a way implement the law.
“The bill that I put in is good because it is such a problem, it’s a $2-3,000 dollar problem and anywhere like $500-600 dollars up to $3,000 dollars depending on what you own for a vehicle for a vehicle,” says Timberlake.
Timberlake says he has seen a rise in thefts in the area of Turner and has received reports of high theft rates in the Lewiston and Auburn area. He says this bill is a step in the right direction.
“Are crooks going to find a way around it? Crooks find a way around everything but it’s going to help,” he says.
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