Consumer protection; prohibiting use of hidden fees and charges by businesses. Effective date.
SB986 would create new consumer-protection rules aimed at eliminating “hidden fees” in the pricing of certain goods and services. The bill defines key terms such as “business,” “clear and conspicuous,” “covered good or service,” “total price,” “government charges,” and “shipping charges,” and it focuses especially on live-event tickets and short-term lodging, including hotels, motels, inns, vacation rentals, and similar accommodations. Under the bill, businesses would be prohibited from advertising or displaying a price for a covered good or service without clearly disclosing the total price upfront.
The bill also requires businesses to disclose, before a consumer agrees to pay, any fee or charge that is excluded from the total price, along with the nature, purpose, amount, and identity of the good or service associated with that fee. It further requires the final amount of payment to be shown prominently, and it makes misrepresenting fees, charges, or their refundability an unfair and deceptive practice under the Oklahoma Consumer Protection Act. The act would take effect November 1, 2025.
SB986 would add a new section to Title 15 of the Oklahoma Statutes and expand the Oklahoma Consumer Protection Act by expressly treating certain fee-related misrepresentations as unfair and deceptive practices. It would impose disclosure obligations on businesses that sell or advertise covered goods or services, particularly in online, mobile, streaming, and in-person transactions, and would require pricing to be presented in a way that makes the total cost clear to consumers. The bill would affect businesses in the live-event ticketing and short-term lodging markets, as well as any other sellers of covered goods or services subject to the disclosure rules.
Based on the bill text and available legislative context, the measure appears to be framed as a consumer-protection and transparency bill, with an overall pro-consumer sentiment. There are no recorded committee transcripts or votes in the provided materials, so there is no direct evidence of opposition or support from debate. The bill’s introduction and referral suggest it was moving through the normal committee process without documented controversy in the available record.
The main policy issue likely to generate contention is the scope of the disclosure requirements and whether they are burdensome for businesses, especially online platforms, ticket sellers, lodging providers, and businesses that use layered pricing or add-on fees. Another likely point of dispute is the bill’s focus on live-event tickets and short-term lodging, which may be seen as targeting industries commonly associated with “junk fees,” while leaving other sectors less directly regulated. Supporters would likely emphasize price transparency and consumer fairness, while critics may argue that the bill could complicate advertising, checkout design, and fee structuring.