Sheriff auctions; online auctions; prohibiting charging of buyer's premium; requiring certain nonelectronic option for bidders; collection of payments; fees. Emergency.
SB 747 updates Oklahoma law governing sheriff’s sales of levied goods, chattels, lands, and tenements to expressly allow those sales to be conducted through an online auction marketplace. The bill adds notice requirements for online sales, including identifying the internet address where bids may be placed, the time bidding opens, and whether the sale will occur online. It also preserves existing notice and publication requirements for sheriff auctions and confirmation hearings, while modernizing language and making the statutes gender neutral and more internally consistent.
The bill creates a new statutory section authorizing sheriffs to use online auction marketplaces for execution sales and sets operating rules for those platforms. Among other things, it prohibits sheriffs, officers, appraisers, marketplace operators, and certain related persons from buying the property being sold; requires a nonelectronic bidding option; allows reasonable terms of service governed by Oklahoma law; permits collection and remittance of deposits and payments; and caps marketplace fees at $425 per confirmed sale. It also prohibits charging a buyer’s premium on sheriff sales conducted through an online marketplace.
SB 747 amends Title 12 provisions on levy and execution sales, specifically Sections 757, 764, and 765, and adds a new codified section authorizing online auction marketplaces for sheriff sales. The bill changes how notice, bidding, payment handling, and confirmation procedures may work when a sheriff chooses to conduct a sale online, while leaving the underlying execution-sale framework in place. It affects sheriffs, court clerks, judgment debtors, lienholders, bidders, and online auction marketplace operators by setting procedural requirements and fee limits for these sales.
The bill appears to have broad support overall, passing the House unanimously on third reading and clearing the Senate with a strong majority on final reading. Earlier Senate passage was narrower, suggesting some initial reservations, but the final votes indicate the measure was generally viewed favorably. The emergency clause also suggests lawmakers wanted the changes to take effect quickly.
The main points of potential contention are the shift to online auction platforms, the role and regulation of private marketplace vendors, and the fee structure. The bill bars buyer’s premiums and caps marketplace costs, which may be intended to protect bidders and debtors but could limit platform revenue. It also requires a nonelectronic bidding option and prohibits purchases by sheriffs, officers, appraisers, marketplace personnel, and related persons, reflecting concern about fairness, access, and conflicts of interest. No committee transcript is available, so the specific arguments for or against these provisions are not documented in the provided materials.