OK Senate approves bill requiring posting of auto ID numbers

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Apr 18, 2006 by Jeff Packham

A bill was approved Monday by the state Senate that would require online posting of entire vehicle identification numbers despite one company's claim it stands to lose millions of dollars.

State Sen. Johnnie Crutchfield, D-Ardmore, said House Bill 3085 would serve as a tool to help the Oklahoma Insurance Department and law enforcement agencies in trying to catch crimes against consumers involving the use of vehicle identification numbers (VINs).

Crutchfield was unwilling to take on any amendments that would lead to the bill being moved to a conference committee, where he said the bill would definitely die.

The bill requires any salvage pool or salvage disposal sale by an insurance company to provide the entire 17-digit VIN online along with the name of the insurance company. The bill also requires the buyer's identification number of the winning bidder on any sale to be placed on the Internet.

The intent is to prevent the sale of junked cars using the VINs from salvaged vehicles. Crutchfield said the bill only applied to vehicles that were inoperable and were no longer on the road.

Salvage vehicles are ones considered a total loss for insurance or business purposes. Junked vehicles have been dismantled after a wreck or having been abandoned.

Crutchfield said there were two companies that held salvage pools in Oklahoma - a company in Sapulpa and Coparts Inc., from California. Crutchfield said there were five salvage areas used by the two companies.

The Oklahoma companies were already placing this information on the Internet, Crutchfield said, while the California company was opposing the mandate.

That's the company that doesn't want to do this, Crutchfield said, noting that this would help thousands of small businesses in the state. This is basically big corporation versus small business.

Copart Inc. provides vehicle suppliers, primarily insurance companies, with a full range of services to process and sell salvage vehicles principally to licensed dismantlers, rebuilders and used- vehicle dealers.

The company, which has offices in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, is considered to be the largest provider of vehicle salvage disposition services in the U.S.

Crutchfield said he had been told that the bill could mean at least $25 million in losses for Copart Inc. Opposing the bill in the Senate Business and Labor Committee was State Farm Insurance Co., while Property Casualty Insurers Association of America has come out in opposition to the bill as well.

State Sen. Todd Lamb, R-Edmond, questioned the holes in the bill, claiming it would create more problems for law enforcement and businesses as well, forcing the Oklahoma Insurance Department to hire two more staff members.

There are serious concerns, Lamb said of the proposal.

Crutchfield responded that the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation had checked off on the bill, that it would help small businesses and OID would not have to hire additional staff.

The state's insurance regulatory agency is tracking the bill, but it has not taken a stance on the contents.

Commissioner (Kim) Holland is committed to enforcing and executing every responsibility bestowed by the Legislature as effectively and efficiently as we can with the resources we have been given to do so, Jennifer Burchett, legislative liaison for the Oklahoma Insurance Department, said after the bill passed.

Crutchfield said the use of VINs the bill is attempting to put an end to is called cloning. He pointed out that the only opposition seemed to come from a company that was reporting potential financial losses from an activity that may be considered criminal.

If we're talking about $25 million, something's really wrong, Crutchfield said. It's all money. It's all about the pricing. It's all about who's making the money.

The bill passed 25-20 but was held for reconsideration on a future legislative date. If advanced from the Senate, the bill would next move to the governor's desk.