California Legislature Targets Catalytic Converter Thefts With Approved Bill

Deputy Jaime Moran from the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department engraves the catalytic converter of a vehicle with a traceable number in City of Industry, California, on July 14, 2021. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

A California bill to deter catalytic converter theft would impose misdemeanors on those who have removed its VIN, or unique marking, and would make it illegal to possess three or more of those that have been altered.

Assembly Bill 1519, authored by Assemblywoman Jasmeet Bains (D-Delano), recently passed both houses of the Legislature this month and was presented to the governor on Sept. 22.