Senator Johnson told the Senate Judiciary Committee Senate Bill 242 is intended to curb catalytic-converter theft by increasing criminal penalties, expanding scrapyard oversight and establishing a task force to coordinate investigations.

Johnson said the bill would make catalytic-converter theft a fifth-degree felony and a fourth-degree felony for repeat offenders, authorize fines up to $50,000 per offense in some cases and expand the statutory definition of covered parts to include diesel cores and particulate filters. The proposal would give the Ohio Department of Public Safety broader authority to monitor scrapyards, require better reporting on bulk catalytic-converter sales, and direct the attorney general to establish a catalytic-converter task force under the organized crime investigations commission.

The senator described thefts as an economic burden on households and businesses and said the bill reflects stakeholder input from the Department of Public Safety, automobile dealers, and scrap-industry groups. The committee received sponsor testimony and took no vote on the measure at the hearing.