New Jersey lawmakers are looking at what laws can be used to help combat the trafficking of stolen cars.

Rep. Mikie Sherill says car thefts are on the rise statewide.

"We're trying to address and attack this every way possible," says Sherill. "I hope what people take away from this is the breadth of engagement by law enforcement and elected officials in this issue. We have our state senators working hard to get state legislation passed. I'm working on federal legislation."

Officials say more than 14,000 cars were reported stolen last year in New Jersey. That's up about 20% with many of the vehicles ending up at the port of Newark.

They say 9,000 cars were stolen in the state by August with that number expected to rise to 17,000 by the end of the year.