Kansas Attorney General Opinion 2021-001

May 26, 2021
ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 2021- 1
The Honorable Jeff Longbine
State Senator, 17th District
2801 Lakeridge Rd.
Emporia, KS 66801
Re: 	Unfair Trade and Consumer Protection—Consumer Protection; Scrap
Metal 	Dealers—Scrap 	Metal 	Theft 	Reduction 	Act; 	Definitions;
Implementation; 	Administration 	and 	Enforcement 	By 	the 	Attorney
General and Kansas Bureau of Investigation; Unlawful Acts; Person
Selling 	Regulated 	Scrap 	Metal; 	Information 	Required; 	Catalytic
Converters
Synopsis: 	A scrap metal dealer registered under the Scrap Metal Theft Reduction
Act is required to submit information required by the Kansas Bureau of
Investigation for each transaction. Such regulated scrap metal includes
catalytic converters, as their primary value is derived from stainless steel
and the platinum, palladium or rhodium contained in the core. Cited
herein: K.S.A. 2020 Supp. 50-6,109; 50-6,110; L. 2007, ch. 128, § 1.
* 	* 	*
Dear Senator Longbine:
As State Senator for the 17 th District, you request our opinion on whether automotive
catalytic 	converters 	are 	covered 	under 	the 	Scrap 	Metal 	Theft 	Reduction 	Act. 1
Specifically, you ask whether regulated scrap metal as defined in K.S.A. 2020 Supp.
50-6,109(b) includes automotive catalytic converters, and whether scrap metal dealers
1 K.S.A. 2020 Supp. 50-6,109 et seq.

The Honorable Jeff Longbine
Page 2
are required to report the purchase of catalytic converters to the Kansas Bureau of
Investigation database.
General Motors decided to utilize catalytic converters in its vehicles starting in 1973, 2
and the automobile industry has utilized catalytic converters as a component of vehicle
exhaust systems as a way to reduce air pollution since 1975. 3 It is widely understood
in the automotive and scrap metal industries that the interior lining of catalytic
converters is composed of platinum, palladium, and/or rhodium. Nickel is also used in
some applications. 4 “Catalytic converter recycling plays a significant part in the effort
to feed the constant demand for platinum from the automotive and other transportation
industries that make these devices.”5 “Other exotic and precious metals come from a
variety of sources such as … Platinum-group metals from catalysts (including catalytic
converters, which automobile recyclers systematically collect).” 6 It is clear that catalytic
converters are purchased primarily for the value of their constituent parts that contain
platinum, palladium and rhodium.
Many states, including Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Missouri, and North Carolina 7
specifically reference catalytic converters in their scrap metal statutes. When originally
enacted, the Kansas Scrap Metal Theft Reduction Act specifically mentioned catalytic
converters in the statutory definition of regulated scrap metal; 8 however, in 2014, in
response to a request by a legislator, the Judicial Council agreed to study 2014 Senate
Bill 418 regarding regulated scrap metal, the growing problem of scrap metal theft, and
to make recommendations. One of the recommendations mentioned in the Judicial
Council’s report was to simplify and broaden the definitions of scrap metal dealer and
regulated scrap metal. 9 The 2015 Legislature responded by broadening the statutory
regulated scrap metal definition so platinum, palladium and rhodium in any form were
considered regulated scrap metal, and not just when they are a part of a catalytic
converter.
Pursuant to the Scrap Metal Theft Reduction Act, scrap metal dealers are required to
be registered with the State of Kansas, maintain a register that includes certain
2 	G.P. 	Thomas, 	What 	Materials 	are 	Used 	in 	Catalytic 	Converters? 	(May 	1, 	2013)
https://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=8094 (last accessed May 10, 2021).
3 	Timeline 	of 	Major 	Accomplishment 	in 	Transportation, 	Air 	Pollution, 	and 	Climate 	Change.
https://www.epa.gov/transportation-air-pollution-and-climate-change/timeline-major-accomplishments-
transportation-air (last accessed May 10, 2021).
4 https://www.catalyticconverters.com/construction/ (last accessed May 10, 2021).
5 Lessard, Mark, The Connection Between Scrap Metal Recycling and Drug Abuse. ThermoFisher
Scientific. (March 31, 2020) https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/metals/the-connection-between-scrap-
metal-recycling-and-drug-abuse/ (last accessed May 10, 2021).
6 Guidance for the Identification and Control of Safety and Health Hazards in Metal Scrap Recycling.
OSHA 3348-05 2008.
7
Ala. Code §13A-8-13.1; AS §44-1642.01; A.R.S. §44-1642.01; RSMo §407.303; N.C.G.S. §66-421(b)
8 See L. 2007, ch. 128, § 1.
9
https://kansasjudicialcouncil.org/Documents/Studies%20and%20Reports/2015%20Reports/Scrap%2
0Metal%20Report%20WITH%20attachments.pdf (last accessed May 10, 2021).

The Honorable Jeff Longbine
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information about the purchase of regulated scrap metal, and report such purchases
to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation Reporting System within 72 hours. 10
K.S.A. 2020 Supp. 50-6,109(b)(2) defines regulated scrap metal as:
[A]ny item, in any form, for which the purchase price described in K.S.A.
2020 	Supp. 50-6,110 and 50-6,111, 	and 	amendments 	thereto, 	was
primarily based on the content of:
. . . .
(E) stainless steel;
. . . .
(J) platinum;
(K) palladium;
(L) rhodium;
(O) any other nonferrous metal; or
(P) any combination of nonferrous metals listed in subsections (b)(2)(A)
through (b)(2)(P).
To fully answer your question as to whether catalytic converters are covered by the
definition of regulated scrap metal, we turn to the rules of statutory interpretation. Only
if the statute's language or text is unclear or ambiguous does the court use canons of
construction or legislative history or other background considerations to construe the
legislature's intent. 11 We note that the Act formerly included catalytic converters in the
list of regulated scrap metal. Although in some instances, deletion of a term in a statute
indicates a legislative intent to exclude it from the scope of the statute, that is not the
case here.
The statutory language is clear. Catalytic converters are primarily purchased by scrap
metal dealers for the value of the regulated scrap metals, platinum, palladium, and
rhodium contained in them. 	These metals are listed in K.S.A. 50-6,109(b), and,
accordingly, the Scrap Metal Theft Reduction Act requires scrap metal dealers to report
10 K.S.A. 2020 Supp. 50-6,110(b) and (e).
11 City of Dodge City v. Webb, 305 Kan. 351, 356 (2016).

The Honorable Jeff Longbine
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the information related to each catalytic converter purchase to the Kansas Bureau of
Investigation database.
Sincerely,
Derek Schmidt
Kansas Attorney General
Charles Macheers
Assistant Attorney General
DS:SS:CWM:sb