A bill seeking to lower emissions requirements for replacement catalytic converters when the original converter is stolen was shut down by a state committee Thursday.

House Bill 1038 would have allowed victims of catalytic converter theft to use a replacement catalytic converter that complies with federal emissions standards, but not Colorado’s stricter state standards. This would only apply when the theft has been reported to law enforcement and the victim has made a “reasonable effort” to get a state-compliant replacement catalytic converter.

Bill sponsor Rep. Rod Bockenfeld, R-Watkins, said frequent thefts and supply chain issues have left many people whose catalytic converters are stolen without legal options for replacements.

“The biggest impacts are folks on the lower part of the economic scale. Their automobiles are their livelihood,” Bockenfeld said. “They carry liability insurance, they don’t have the insurance companies to fall back on, they don’t have a second automobile that they can rely upon.”

In Colorado, thefts of the exhaust emission control devices increased by more than 5,000% from 2019 to 2021, going from 189 to 9,811 reported thefts annually, according to the Colorado Auto Theft Prevention Authority. In Denver, the thefts rose by 15,000% in the same timeframe – from 15 to 2,359, according to data from the Denver Police Department.

Without a catalytic converter, vehicles become legally and sometimes functionally inoperable.

The Colorado Independent Automobile Dealers Association claimed that state-compliant catalytic converters — which adhere to the California air resources board standards — are more expensive and harder to find than their federal counterparts. The association said it has experienced wait times of up to 12 months and costs of up to $5,000, which they said can be five times more expensive than federally compliant catalytic converters for some vehicles.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment disagreed with this characterization, saying it is able to assist residents with finding replacements in a matter of weeks or days for only a few hundred dollars more than a federal version.

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The department also pointed out that cost of the converters is related to the effectiveness, with 40% of federally compliant units failing emissions tests and state-compliant converters reducing one ton of emissions per day. 

“I understand that the victims of theft should not be revictimized in this process, but there are millions of people impacted by air quality out there that deserve for us to use every tool in the toolbox to reduce those emissions,” said Steve McCannon with the Department of Public Health and Environment.

The House Energy and Environment Committee rejected the bill in an 8-3 vote on Thursday afternoon. The vote was strictly along party lines, with Republicans in support of the bill and Democrats opposed.

This is the only catalytic converter-related bill introduced so far this session. Last year, the legislature passed three bills seeking to alleviate the effects of catalytic converter theft on Colorado residents. Last year’s bills included creating an annual $300,000 grant program for victim assistance and theft prevention, implementing civil penalties for the thefts and expanding law enforcement resources to investigate the thefts.

The state also has a waiver program that residents can apply for when they and the state cannot find a replacement catalytic converter. Critics pointed out that this waiver has only been issued one time, but proponents argued that this means the state and residents are currently able to find replacements without needing it.

“It seems like we’re going to be spending a lot of money to do something that the department is already doing,” said Rep. Cathy Kipp, D-Fort Collins, who voted against the bill.

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