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Dear Licensed Motor Vehicle Dealer,
The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) is providing the following information to you about a new state law impacting certain motor vehicle service operations. It is very important that you review this information and, if applicable to your operations, comply with the new requirements as they will be part of TxDMV enforcement activities in the future.
The 88th Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 224 to address crime related to catalytic converter theft. In addition to changes to penal code and state law enforcement activities, the bill creates new record keeping requirements related to the purchase, sale, repair, replacement, or disposal of a catalytic converter.
Motor vehicle dealers with active service and repair operations are subject to the new record-keeping requirements. The new law requires that you create and retain documentation of the purchase, sale or disposal of catalytic converters, including a description of the part, information identifying the other party to the transaction, and the date of the transaction. The records must be maintained for at least 2 years from the date of the transaction. The bill does not create a standard format for this record; the format of the record is left up to you. If you are currently capturing these data points in the normal course of your existing business operations – through repair orders, warranty records, purchase orders, invoicing, or other methods – you are likely already in compliance with this law.
The specific language of the law can be found in Texas Occupations Code §2305.153.
Department enforcement staff are working to develop the process for reviewing these records during visits to dealers engaging in applicable service activities. It is important that you begin keeping records of these activities as soon as possible, enforcement associated with violations of these requirements will begin in September 2024. If you have questions regarding these requirements and related enforcement activities, please contact the TxDMV Enforcement Division (enforcement@txdmv.gov).
Sincerely,
Corrie Thompson
Director, TxDMV Enforcement Division
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