Federal law targets catalytic converter theft ring—with carve-outs for legitimate recyclers
H.R. 9904 — Deputy Darren Almendarez Act · Filed by Brandon Gill (R-TX) · 13 cosponsors · Introduced Jul 23, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill creates a federal crime for knowingly possessing or purchasing catalytic converters that have been removed from vehicles, with intent to sell or distribute them or extract precious metals from them. Penalties range from fines up to $100,000 and 5 years imprisonment for a first offense, up to $200,000 and 10 years for repeat offenses. The bill carves out broad affirmative defenses for legitimate actors—vehicle owners, repair shops, recyclers, manufacturers, dealers, and law enforcement—who comply with state and local record-keeping requirements.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is straightforward criminal prohibition of a specific form of property theft. The named-after-person framing (Deputy Darren Almendarez) appears to honor a law enforcement officer, consistent with victim-protection legislation naming conventions, not vanity.
What the text implies
- Federal prosecution may create disparities in enforcement across jurisdictions with varying state-level catalytic converter regulations, potentially affecting rural or under-resourced areas differently.
- The affirmative defense for 'metal recycling entities' requires proof of legitimate acquisition chain; burden of proof may disadvantage smaller recyclers without robust documentation systems.
- Interstate commerce trigger means even intrastate catalytic converter trafficking could fall under federal jurisdiction if any component crosses state lines, potentially federalizing what might otherwise be local theft.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill directly targets a theft-driven black market that costs vehicle owners thousands of dollars in repairs and insurance claims. Legitimate businesses and individuals have clear legal pathways through affirmative defenses, and the federal enforcement mechanism addresses a crime that state and local police have struggled to contain.
Who stands to gain
- automotive repair and service industry
- vehicle owners (reduced theft losses and insurance costs)
- legitimate metal recycling businesses
Named in the bill
U.S. House of Representatives, House Committee on the Judiciary, Deputy Darren Almendarez (namesake), U.S. International Trade Commission, National Insurance Crime Bureau, motor vehicle manufacturers and dealers, metal recycling entities, law enforcement agencies
Where it stands
13 cosponsors: 9 Democrats, 4 Republicans.
- Jul 23, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jul 23, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (6,298 characters) on Jul 25, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Federal law targets catalytic converter theft ring—with carve-outs for legitimate recyclers” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr9904 Report an error
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