TULSA, Okla. — Starting Sept. 1, 2024, temporary paper car tags will be much more temporary.
TheMason Treat Act is named after Senator President Pro Tempore Greg Treat’s son, who almost died in an accident during a traffic stop on I-40.
On Jan. 5, 2024, Deputy Jose Mendoza stopped with a vehicle without a license plate. Mason Treat was driving that car and legally purchased the vehicle from a private seller.
Due to law at the time the previous owner kept the purchase tag. During the stop, another car sideswiped Treat’s car, critically injuring Treat and the deputy.
Fast-forward to now, SB 2035 aims to avoid situations like this again.
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The law requires sellers of vehicles to report the sale within 48 hours to an online portal. Customers still get a paper tag at dealerships but that tag is only valid for 10 days.
Once the seller reports the sale, Service Oklahoma sends a temporary metal plate with a decal saying ‘temporary' to the buyer of the car. The buyer has 10 days to put the metal plate on the vehicle.
2 News spoke with Barry Steveson, a licensed operator at Garnett Tag Agency, and he told us this creates more work for his employees. “The biggest impact for us will be the dealers we work with daily they will be sending theirs online. So we will see a large influx of mailing out.”
We asked Steveson if this would cost the buyer of the car and any fees and while we were talking, he called to make sure and found out the state is covering the fees for the buyer.
“It’s a benefit to us also and benefits the taxpayer on the road. It’s a win-win all the way around,” Steveson said.
After the temporary tag is in place and pre-registration is complete, the buyer is responsible for completing the full registration and still must pay for the tag, title, and tax within two months of purchase.
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