The City Attorney and Chief of Police for the Houston Police Department recommend that City Council adopt an Ordinance amending Chapter 7, Section 7-63.1 and Section 7-125 of the Code of Ordinances relating to metal recyclers and second resellers.
As background, on May 4, 2022, the City Council adopted ordinance number 2022-341, which amended Chapter 7 of the Code of Ordinances, Houston, Texas (“Code”) to place restrictions on the purchase, acquisition, possession, transfer, and sale of catalytic converters.
At the 88th Texas Legislature, on May 29, 2023, Senate Bill (“SB”) 224 was signed and enacted new state law requirements concerning recordkeeping and reporting requirements for the purchase and sale of catalytic converters to metal recyclers and other entities. SB 224 created a state-jail felony offense for the theft of a catalytic converter and another state-jail felony offense for the unauthorized possession of a catalytic converter by a person who intentionally or knowingly possessed a catalytic converter that had been removed from a motor vehicle and was not otherwise authorized to possess the converter. Additionally, if conduct constituting an offense under SB 224 also constitutes an offense under the Code, SB 224 allows prosecution under these new offenses, the ordinance in the Code, or both, which gives the City additional enforcement tools. SB 224 also created a new administrative penalty of up to $10,000 for metal recyclers that violate the Occupations Code.
As these new state law requirements supersede local statutes, the Houston Police Department and the City of Houston Legal Department request City Council’s adoption of an ordinance amending regulations concerning catalytic converters to conform to the new limitations imposed by SB 224.
Fiscal Note:
There is no impact to the fiscal budget or no additional spending authority. Therefore, no Fiscal Note is required as stated in the Financial Policies.
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Arturo Michel Troy Finner
City Attorney Chief of Police