Santa Barbara County Passes Stricter Penalties for Catalytic Converter Thefts

Santa Barbara County residents who have woken up to the roar of a sawed-off exhaust now have a local law on their side. The county Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a new ordinance imposing fines — and potential jail time — on anyone caught with detached catalytic converters they can't prove they own, closing a loophole in state law that prosecutors and local officials say has hamstrung enforcement for years.

The vote, reported by Noozhawk, makes Santa Barbara County the latest in a growing list of local governments acting on their own after identifying a gap in California's statewide rules on converter theft.

What the New Ordinance Does

Under current state law, criminal penalties apply only to someone found in possession of nine or more detached catalytic converters. That leaves people holding eight or fewer — including, critics say, many actual thieves — effectively outside the law's reach.

The county's new ordinance changes that at the local level. Anyone in possession of a detached catalytic converter who cannot prove ownership now faces escalating penalties:

• First offense: a $1,000 fine, up to a year in county jail, or both
• Second offense: a $3,000 fine
• Third offense: a $5,000 fine

The ordinance includes carve-outs for legitimate holders of the parts: licensed recyclers are exempt, as are converters that are new or certified. That distinction is aimed squarely at the middlemen — the intermediaries who collect a handful of stolen units and funnel them into the recycling pipeline — rather than mechanics, salvage yards, or vehicle owners replacing their own parts.

Why Catalytic Converters Keep Disappearing

Catalytic converters have become one of the most commonly stolen auto parts in California because they contain precious metals and can be cut from a vehicle's undercarriage in minutes with a battery-powered saw. The thefts cost victims repair bills that often run into the thousands of dollars — frequently more than the resale value of the stolen part itself.

At Tuesday's board meeting, Cory Bantilan, chief of staff for Fifth District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino, opened his presentation with a photograph of a warehouse full of stolen catalytic converters recovered in the Los Angeles area. What struck him, he said, was how recent the image was.

"This is down in the LA area, but what was most compelling to me is this photo was taken only a few weeks ago," Bantilan said, according to Noozhawk. "I think it shows that this continues to be a problem that affects us locally and throughout the country as well."

Bantilan noted that Toyota Priuses are among the most popular targets for thieves, a concern for a region where the hybrid has long been a staple of the local vehicle fleet.

A Citizen's Campaign Reaches Santa Barbara

The path to Tuesday's vote began with a public comment. Daryl Terrell, a resident of Riverside County, first raised the gap in state law before the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors during public comment in March 2025, according to Noozhawk's reporting.

Terrell has since been traveling from city to city and county to county — on his own time and at his own expense — urging local governments to adopt stricter ordinances where state law falls short. He was present for Tuesday's vote and thanked the board.

Terrell told supervisors that one of the frustrations he encountered early in his campaign was that even when suspects were caught with suspected stolen converters, no victim could be attached to the crime — making prosecution nearly impossible.

"This is not about overpolicing. It's not about mass incarceration. It's about fair, equal justice under the law," Terrell told the board, as reported by Noozhawk.

Lavagnino, whose office brought the item forward, praised Terrell as an example of grassroots citizen action.

"I know this is a personal issue for you, and this is all on his own time too, and his own dime," Lavagnino said. "So, thank you very much for being involved, and it was an honor for us to bring this forward."

Santa Barbara Joins a Growing List

Santa Barbara County is not acting alone. A county staff report cited at the meeting found that eight other counties and 21 cities have passed more restrictive local ordinances targeting catalytic converter possession, according to Noozhawk.

The local patchwork approach reflects a broader dynamic: cities and counties frustrated with the pace of state legislation have taken enforcement into their own hands, using their authority over possession offenses to reach conduct that state law doesn't cover.

What It Means for Local Drivers

For Santa Barbara County residents, the practical impact is twofold. First, the ordinance gives sheriff's deputies and prosecutors a local charge to file when they encounter someone with a small number of detached converters and no proof of ownership — situations that previously could result in no charges at all. Second, the escalating fine structure is designed to make low-level fencing of stolen converters a costly proposition rather than a risk-free one.

Prius owners and other frequent targets of converter theft remain advised to take precautions — parking in garages or well-lit areas, engraving converters with license plate numbers, and installing anti-theft devices — since the ordinance works on the possession and resale side of the problem rather than preventing thefts outright.

The ordinance takes effect as approved by the board; enforcement will fall to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office and other local agencies. Whether it deters thefts countywide may depend in part on how widely other jurisdictions continue adopting similar measures — a campaign that, thanks to Daryl Terrell, now includes Santa Barbara County on its list.