From staff r eports OKLAHOMA CITY – Legis lation to aid Okl ahoma small b usiness owners was approved by Governor Kevin S titt on M ay 20.
Under existing state l aw, transferring a v ehicle with a n active lien to a per son’s business en tity is prohibited and can create a significant challenge to owner s. House Bill 3618, a uthored by Rep. Erick Harris (R-Edmond), will g o in to e ffect on N ov. 1 a nd allows the tr ansfer of a mo tor vehicle title with a n active lien from a commer cial lender to a n individual’s business en tity.
'Currently, small b usiness owners in Okl ahoma often ha ve to take o ut per sonal loa ns to purchase vehicles necessa ry for their operations,' Harris said in a pr ess release. 'While this arrangement may work initial ly, complications a rise as the business expands and additional vehicles a re needed. This leg islative change will allow small businesses to con tinue growing and investing in o ur state, en suring they have the r esources necessary for success.'
The bill text states that the business managing member in dicating ownership must own at least 50% of the b usiness en tity. Service Oklahoma will pr ovide notification of the tr ansaction to the lienholder 90 d ays prior to executing the title tr ansfer and will also de velop a n appropriate affidavit and necessary notice.
In addition, un til the original lien is satis fied, the r eceiving business en tity cannot transfer the title to a nother en tity or person. The bill also s pecifies that any lien or de bt based so lely upon a tr ansfer of cer tificate of title does no t release the lien.
According to 2023 statistics from the Small B usiness Administration, 371,640 small businesses made u p 99.4% of all Oklahoma businesses. In addi tion, Oklahoma small b usinesses contributed 68.7% of ne w jobs in the state bet ween March 2021 and March 2022, w hich amounted to 30,611 jo bs.
The SBA report also s howed that in 2021, $1.2 billion in ne w loans were issued to b usinesses with revenues of $1 million or less. Small b usinesses accounted for 51% of Okl ahoma employment in 2020, w hich exceeded the national small b usiness em ployment share.