Source: Travis Fain, WRAL, 9/1/21

Stealing a catalytic converter off a vehicle would be a felony under a bill North Carolina lawmakers sent the governor Wednesday in response to an uptick in the thefts. The bill would also put more responsibility on metal recyclers to track catalytic converters they buy and make it illegal for anyone who's not an recycler to buy a used converter, unless it's for reuse. Catalytic converters are prized for the precious metals in them, and there's often an upswing in thefts during harder economic times.

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