Florida Senate - 2023                                     SB 306
       
       
        
       By Senator Boyd
       
       
       
       
       
       20-00311A-23                                           2023306__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to catalytic converters; creating s.
    3         860.142, F.S.; providing a short title; providing
    4         definitions; requiring certain records regarding a
    5         transaction involving a detached catalytic converter
    6         to be maintained for a specified period; authorizing
    7         inspection of such records by a law enforcement
    8         officer or agency representative; requiring a person
    9         who sells or installs a detached catalytic converter
   10         to disclose that the catalytic converter has been
   11         detached; requiring certain information regarding a
   12         transaction to be provided to certain persons upon
   13         request; providing application of specified statutory
   14         provisions; providing for an inference that a
   15         catalytic converter may have been stolen; providing
   16         prohibitions regarding the possession, purchase, sale,
   17         or installation of a stolen, detached, or altered
   18         catalytic converter; providing prohibitions regarding
   19         the importing, manufacturing, purchase, sale, or
   20         installation or reinstallation of a counterfeit, fake,
   21         or junk-filled catalytic converter; providing criminal
   22         penalties; providing criminal penalties for failure to
   23         maintain certain records, prepare certain documents,
   24         provide certain records upon request, or make certain
   25         disclosures; providing an effective date.
   26          
   27  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   28  
   29         Section 1. Section 860.142, Florida Statutes, is created to
   30  read:
   31         860.142Catalytic Converter Antitheft Act.—
   32         (1)SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the
   33  “Catalytic Converter Antitheft Act.”
   34         (2)DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
   35         (a)“Catalytic converter” means an emission control device
   36  that is designed to be installed and operate in a motor vehicle
   37  to convert toxic gases and pollutants in the motor vehicle’s
   38  exhaust system into less toxic substances via chemical reaction.
   39         (b)“Counterfeit catalytic converter” means a catalytic
   40  converter displaying a mark identical or similar to the genuine
   41  mark of a catalytic converter manufacturer or motor vehicle
   42  manufacturer without authorization from such manufacturer.
   43         (c)“Detached catalytic converter” means a catalytic
   44  converter that has been removed or detached from a motor
   45  vehicle.
   46         (d)“Fake catalytic converter” means an item, other than a
   47  catalytic converter designed in accordance with United States
   48  Environmental Protection Agency regulations for a given make,
   49  model, and year of motor vehicle as part of a motor vehicle
   50  emission control system, including a counterfeit or
   51  nonfunctional catalytic converter, which is used to replace a
   52  legitimate, functional catalytic converter.
   53         (e)“Junk-filled catalytic converter” means a catalytic
   54  converter the composition of which includes a metal or chemical
   55  that does not function in the same manner or to the same extent
   56  as a metal or chemical in a legitimate catalytic converter to
   57  protect motor vehicle occupants and others from toxic gases and
   58  pollutants produced by the motor vehicle.
   59         (f)“Nonfunctional catalytic converter” means a replacement
   60  catalytic converter that:
   61         1.Was previously recalled or damaged; or
   62         2.Includes a part or object, including, but not limited
   63  to, a counterfeit or repaired catalytic converter, installed in
   64  a motor vehicle to mislead the owner or operator of such motor
   65  vehicle to believe that a functional catalytic converter has
   66  been installed.
   67         (g)“Registered secondary metals recycler” means a
   68  secondary metals recycler, as defined in s. 538.18, that is
   69  registered with the Department of Revenue as required in s.
   70  538.25.
   71         (h)“Salvage motor vehicle dealer” has the same meaning as
   72  provided in s. 320.27(1)(c)5.
   73         (3)PURCHASE, SALE, OR INSTALLATION OF CATALYTIC
   74  CONVERTERS; RECORDS.—
   75         (a)A person engaged in the purchase, sale, or installation
   76  of a detached catalytic converter shall maintain a manual or
   77  electronic record of the purchase, sale, or installation. The
   78  record must include the first and last name, the address, and a
   79  copy of the driver license or other government-issued means of
   80  identification of the person from whom the detached catalytic
   81  converter was purchased and, if the detached catalytic converter
   82  is installed, the vehicle identification number of the motor
   83  vehicle in which the catalytic converter is installed. Such
   84  record must be maintained for 3 years after the transaction and
   85  may be inspected during normal business hours by a law
   86  enforcement officer or other authorized representative of the
   87  agency charged with administering this section. A person who
   88  sells or installs a detached catalytic converter must disclose
   89  to the purchaser or consumer that the catalytic converter has
   90  been detached from a motor vehicle. Upon request, information
   91  contained in a record or document pertaining to a specific
   92  transaction must be provided to an insurer, purchaser, consumer,
   93  or law enforcement officer.
   94         (b)A catalytic converter is a major component part of a
   95  motor vehicle as provided in s. 319.30(1)(j)1. The requirements
   96  of s. 319.30 apply to the purchase, possession, or sale of a
   97  catalytic converter by a salvage motor vehicle dealer.
   98         (4)INFERENCE.—Proof that a person was in possession of two
   99  or more detached catalytic converters, unless satisfactorily
  100  explained, gives rise to an inference that the person in
  101  possession of the catalytic converters knew or should have known
  102  that the catalytic converters may have been stolen or
  103  fraudulently obtained.
  104         (5)PROHIBITIONS; PENALTIES.—
  105         (a)A person may not:
  106         1.Knowingly possess, purchase, sell, or install a stolen
  107  catalytic converter; a new or detached catalytic converter of
  108  which the manufacturer’s part identification number, aftermarket
  109  identification number, or owner-applied number has been removed,
  110  altered, or defaced; or a catalytic converter removed from a
  111  stolen motor vehicle;
  112         2.Knowingly purchase a detached catalytic converter
  113  without being a registered secondary metals recycler; or
  114         3.Possess, sell, or offer for sale a detached catalytic
  115  converter without proof of ownership or proof that the person
  116  meets the criteria for exemption provided in s. 538.22.
  117  
  118  A person who violates this paragraph commits a felony of the
  119  third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083,
  120  or s. 775.084.
  121         (b)A person may not knowingly import, manufacture,
  122  purchase, sell, offer for sale, or install or reinstall in a
  123  motor vehicle a counterfeit, fake, or junk-filled catalytic
  124  converter. A person who violates this paragraph commits a felony
  125  of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s.
  126  775.083, or s. 775.084.
  127         (c)A person or business entity that fails to maintain
  128  complete and accurate records, to prepare complete and accurate
  129  documents, to provide a record or information contained in a
  130  record upon request, or to properly disclose that a catalytic
  131  converter is a counterfeit, detached, fake, or junk-filled
  132  catalytic converter:
  133         1.Upon a first offense, commits a misdemeanor of the first
  134  degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
  135         2.Upon a second or subsequent offense, commits a felony of
  136  the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s.
  137  775.083, or s. 775.084.
  138         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.