TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Two bills were introduced into the Florida house that would crack down on catalytic converter thefts.

Carfax reports 153,000 converters were stolen in 2022.

The bills woud create the "Catalytic Converter Anti-Theft Act" that would force recyclers in Florida to register and comply with new regulations.

Thieves sell the converters to recyclers who pay from $50.00 to $1,400.00 per converter depending on the type of vehicle the converter is from.

The converters contain precious metals that make them valuable.

Joy Shankle and her husband Chris are locksmiths in Orange County. 

The couple said they had four catalytic converters cut out and stolen from underneath their work vans.

“So, the first time we lost a couple of catalytic converters. And then it was like three weekends in a month’s period. We lost more,” said Joy.

She said it cost them between $8-10,000 to replace the converters on their vans.

The couple filed a police report, but the stolen catalytic converters have not been recovered.

In February 2022, Orlando police arrested thieves with 31 converters. They had been collecting them in a local hotel.

States like California, Texas and Minnesota have enacted bills that prohibit scrap metal dealers from purchasing converters not attached to a vehicle unless it shows identifying marking that can be used to trace it, such as the VIN number.