HB1815 – Marking catalytic converters with identifiers to more effectively track their ownership and identify stolen property, and creating a task force to address converter thefts.
Prime Sponsor – Representative Ryu (D; 32nd District; Shoreline) (Co-Sponsors Representatives Boehnke & Chase – Rs;  J. Johnson, Berry, Fitzgibbon, Orwall, Shewmake, Leavitt,  Sells, and Gregerson – Ds)
Current status – House concurred in Senate amendments.
Next step would be – To the Governor.
Legislative tracking page for the bill.
SB5495 also addresses converter thefts; so do HB1873 and HB1994.

In the House – Passed
Had a hearing in the Committee on Public Safety January 18th. Replaced by a substitute making minor changes and passed out of committee January 27th. Referred to Transportation. Replaced by a 2nd Substitute eliminating the pilot converter tracking project, converting the task force to a work group, and adding a member representing auto manufacturers and one representing converter manufacturers. It would have the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs establish a grant and training program, when funded, to assist local law enforcement targeting metal theft. Voted out of committee February 7th; referred to Rules; amended on the House floor to make two very minor changes and passed February 12th.

In the Senate – Passed
Had a hearing in the Senate Committee on Law and Justice February 21st. Replaced by a striker making various adjustments that are summarized by staff at the end of it; passed out of committee and referred to Transportation February 24th. Had a hearing there February 26th; amended to have WSU do the catalytic convertor theft study rather than the Joint Transportation Committee, and passed out of Transportation February 28th. Referred to Rules, replaced by yet another striker, amended, and passed by the Senate March 4th.

The bill now has the WSU catalytic converter theft work group; requires any scrap metal dealer’s transactions for a catalytic converter to have documentation indicating that it came from  a vehicle registered in the seller’s name;  and limits immediate payment for any non-ferrous metal transaction to $30 unless there’s a retained image of the material as well as the seller’s government ID. It also says there must be a three day delay for payments to individual sellers. (I don’t see how this fits with the previous bit.)  A floor amendment added similar requirements for auto wreckers. It adds a $1,000 fine per converter to the current penalties for scrap metal dealing offenses, and makes converter transactions without the required records violations of the Consumer Protection Act. The Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs  would now be responsible for making recommendations on reducing converter theft (including considering the possibility of a marking program), as well as the grant and training program. People who attempted to purchase or sell unlawfully obtained metals at licensed scrap metal recyclers or to conduct a transaction under the influence of controlled substances would be added to the no-buy database.

Summary –
If funds were appropriated for it, the Washington State Patrol would establish a catalytic converter tracking pilot project intended to deter the theft of converters by marking them with vehicle identification numbers or other unique identifiers. The Patrol would collaborate with law enforcement, insurance companies and scrap metal dealers to identify the vehicles most frequently targeted for converter theft and establish the most effective methods for marking permanently marking them. Materials to arrange for the marking of the converters of vehicles most likely to be stolen at no cost to the owners would be distributed to dealers, automobile repair shops and service centers, law enforcement agencies, and community organizations. The Patrol would make any educational information resulting from the project available to law enforcement agencies and scrap metal dealers, and report to the Legislature by October 1, 2023, describing the progress, results, and any findings, including the number of converters marked, and, to the extent known, whether any marked converters were stolen and the outcome of any criminal investigation into the thefts.

The bill would also create a task force to review state laws related to theft of converters. It would be required to develop recommendations for:
(a) Deterring catalytic converter theft;
(b) Developing tools to identify and recover stolen converters; and
(c) Lowering costs to victims of converter theft.
It might also develop recommendations related to:
(a) Maintenance and accessibility of law enforcement records
related to transactions involving converters; and,
(b) Traceability of payments related to those.

Members would be appointed by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House, and consist of a Democrat and a Republican from each chamber (one of whom would be elected as the chair by the members), and a member from the State Patrol, the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, the Office of Public Defense; the Superior Court Judges’ Association, the District and Municipal Court Judges’ Association, the Association of Washington Cities, the Office of the Attorney General, the property and casualty insurance industry, the scrap metal recycling industry, the Washington Organized Retail Crime Association, and two members representing individuals with lived experience being charged with, or convicted of, organized theft. The members would choose one legislator and one nonlegislative member as cochairs, and the Patrol would be authorized to contract with one or more consultants to provide data analysis, research, and other services the task force decided it needed.