Catalytic Converter Theft Protections Begin in April

Beginning in April, Washington will have its strongest ever protections against catalytic converter theft thanks to a bill that has been among King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion’s top legislative priorities.

Over multiple legislative sessions, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office worked directly with the Washington State Legislature to develop and pass legislation to combat catalytic converter thefts which disrupt the lives of residents in King County and across Washington.

When it takes effect on April 1, 2025, ESHB 2153 will require common sense regulation of the catalytic converter market and give new resources for Washington State Patrol inspectors to conduct enforcement — all of which will help prevent the wild west marketplace catalytic converters that plagued car owners in recent years.

“For the first time, law enforcement and prosecutors will have the tools we need to hold people accountable for trafficking in stolen catalytic converters,” said King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion. “That’s a win for King County and for Washington State, and I am grateful to the partnership from the bill’s prime sponsor, Rep. Cindy Ryu, and for the strong backing from the Washington legislature.

“I am delighted to have worked closely with the King County Prosecutor’s Office in the introduction and passage of HB 2153 in the 2024 Session, a pivotal step in deterring catalytic converter thefts in Washington,” said Representative Cindy Ryu, who was the bill’s lead sponsor. “HB 2153 safeguards vehicle owners’ property and businesses from financial losses, addressing the disruptive impact on individuals, economy, and public safety. Through proactive enforcement, we aim to create a safer environment for all Washingtonians.”

Why the need for this new law?

Before this bill, once a catalytic converter was detached from a vehicle, police had no reliable ability to trace it back to a specific vehicle. And there were no licensing requirements for private purchasers. So 30 seconds of work by a prolific thief would almost immediately lead to an untraceable and valuable commodity to be sold to one of many unscrupulous purchases. This made a ready and easy marketplace to quickly convert stolen catalytic converters to cash. That contributed to a high number of thefts and a very low number of cases that could be proven in court. Senior Deputy Prosecutor Gary Ernsdorff worked with lawmakers, including lead sponsor Rep. Cindy Ryu, to address the problem by cutting off the source: stopping the demand that was driving the black market.

Prior to ESHB 2153, Washington’s marketplace for catalytic converters had no uniform licensing requirements, inadequate record keeping, and no routine inspections for entities engaged in their purchase. ESHB 2153 will change that. Starting April 1:

• Vehicle dealers have requirements for marking catalytic converters so that when law enforcement come across a catalytic converter, they will have the ability to trace them back to the source.
• Purchasers are required to record who they purchase catalytic converters from and the VIN number of the vehicle from which the catalytic converter was removed. These records must be retained for three years.
• It also requires purchasers to be licensed, regulated, and inspected, and it creates specific and real penalties for actors who play outside the rules — at least $1,000 for each violation.
• New criminal penalties are created for individuals who knowingly and unlawfully traffic in detached catalytic converters — up to a 5 years and $10,000.
• The licensing process will include a new $500 fee which goes directly to the Washington State Patrol to fund inspections and enforcement.

Video of Gary Ernsdorff’s February 22, 2024, testimony to the Senate Transportation Committee is available on our YouTube page. A full transcript is available below.

TRANSCRIPT: Good afternoon, Chairman Liias, members of the committee, and thank you to Representative Ryu and other members who sponsored ESHB 2153.

My name is Gary Ernsdorff. I’m a Senior Prosecutor with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

I’ve seen the rapid proliferation of catalytic converter theft and the resulting damage to individuals and our communities.

I was part of that workgroup you referenced earlier. We did some really good work — there were great people representing many aspects of the industry.

One of the more disturbing findings that we came up with, was how this crime disproportionally impacts lower income folks in your jurisdictions. The people who can least afford it.

Those folks often have older cars with more valuable catalytic converter; they don’t always have insurance to cover losses, and they may only have one vehicle — meaning the resulting impact can impact the ability to get to a job, school, or other necessary daily functions.

The workgroup found that one of the best way to combat this is to more carefully regulate detached catalytic converters and the marketplace.

Currently once a catalytic converters is detached from a vehicle, they are impossible to trace. Law enforcement has no ability to trace them back to vehicles.

So 30 seconds of work by a prolific thief and they now possess an untraceable $500 commodity, and it’s not difficult to convert them to cash.

Right now, we have a wild west marketplace that conducts the lion’s share of illegal tractions going on. That marketplace has no licensing requirement, no record keeping, no inspections, no regulations, no nothing.

And as a result, there are plenty of criminal operators occupying that space. It’s really no wonder why this crime has taken off and why so many Washingtonians have been victimized.

It is time for a change.

ESHB 2153 directly addresses the issues the work group identified; it:

1. Requires catalytic converters to be marked so they are traceable, so law enforcement doesn’t have to walk away from that pile of catalytic converters that everyone knows is stolen but they have no way to currently trace back.
2. Requires purchasers to be licensed, regulated, and inspected, and;

3. It creates specific and real penalties for those actors will continue to play outside the rules.

Consumers get protection, law enforcement gets the tools they need, this is a win for every Washingtonian.

Senators, 2153 is smart, easy, and cheap and I encourage you to vote yes on this bill.

With my remaining time I want to address a couple questions previously raised. On inspections, our workgroup looked for any inspections going on statewide for purchase of any catalytic converters and we found evidence of zero. Zero inspections going on right now. 2153 will change that.

There was a question about serial numbers vs VIN numbers. Catalytic converters do not have individualized serial numbers; they have model numbers that help law enforcement trace it back to a vehicle, maybe, but not individualized. What we targeted in our workgroup is VINs; there’s already a database of VINS, law enforcement can piggyback on that preexisting database. It’s an easy way to make these identifiable.

And third, impact on current license holders. There are already regulations requiring them to keep records of their business transactions. This bill targets those unlicensed individuals out there buying and selling stolen catalytic converters every day. This burdens the thief — not the upstanding businessperson in our community.