An Oklahoma bill capping storage fees for total loss vehicles has become law following inaction by Gov. J. Kevin Stitt. 

Stitt had five days to sign or veto SB641. No action in those five days passes the bill into law. His office also confirmed on Tuesday that the legislation is now law. 

It becomes effective Nov. 1. 

The Oklahoma Auto Body Association (OABA), Automotive Service Association (ASA), Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS), and Alliance for Automotive Innovation sent a letter to the governor encouraging him to veto the bill. 

“We ask you not to sign this legislation into law, as we believe the proposal represents a troubling instance of government overreach into the free market system,” the letter says. 

SB641 caps the storage fees at $39 for gas vehicles and $125 a day for electric vehicles (EVs) that have sustained damage to the battery pack. On the 11th day, the storage rate can increase to $75 a day and $200 for EVs, according to the bill. 

Sen. Lonnie Paxton (R-23), an Oklahoma Farm Bureau insurance agent, introduced the bill in February. He attempted to pass similar bills (SB1853 and SB1741) last year. 

“Our organizations collectively represent thousands of collision repair professionals, small business owners, dealers, automakers, and allied trades throughout Oklahoma and across the nation,” the letter says. “These businesses — the backbone of both our local economy and the automotive repair industry — thrive not through government mandates but through innovation, competition, and consumer trust.” 

According to the letter, the bill creates “unnecessary regulatory burdens that restrict choice, stifle competition and threaten the ability of collision repair professionals to serve the unique needs of their customers.” 

Technical expertise and customer expectations are the best mechanisms for ensuring quality service and a competitive price, the letter says. 

“SB641 undercuts this principle by substituting bureaucratic control for professional judgment, limiting the ability of shop owners to adapt and serve their communities effectively,” the letter says.

“For example, the limits within the bill would force repair businesses to adopt a government mandated storage fee, despite wide variation in the cost of real estate, cost of rent, cost of insurance, the types of vehicles under the care of the business, and other variables that might impact the cost to store and protect the property until such time it is removed. Meanwhile, Oklahoma does not regulate a standard and singular cost to insure a vehicle, or to insure our businesses.” 

SB641 originally passed in the Senate March 27. It was passed with an amendment in the House May 8. The amended bill was passed in the Senate May 19.

Mark Tedford (R-69), the House bill sponsor, told the House earlier this month that everybody is getting something from the bill.  

Andy Fugate (D-94) said some shops may be using the market to force insurance companies to move quicker. 

Tedford responded that any slowness in a claim is separate from the storage rate and that the storage rate only causes a dispute that further disrupts the process. 

Fugate asked, “If the insurance company has a dysfunction, why should this body enable it to continue with that dysfunction? It seems like a market with a high price. For instance, it might force that insurance company to clean house and get additional services to handle the capacity issues.”

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