Texas Just Passed The Best Car Law In Years

The tide is seemingly beginning to turn in the war against legally importing cars. Texas just passed the best car law in years. Should nothing go wrong, on September 1, 2025, all legally imported Japanese Kei trucks, cars, and vans will be protected by law in Texas. The best part is that there are no restrictions. They can drive anywhere, just like any other car, as should be the case.

Texas has been a shining example of how to beat the draconian anti-import policies and laws that have been spreading around the country for years. Back in 2021, the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators published guidance that pressured American states to ban all gray market imported vehicles. The guidance especially targeted legally imported Kei vehicles — the smallest class of road-legal cars in Japan. Several states followed the guidance banning these cars, including Texas.

David McChristian, the founder of Lone Star Kei, has led a strong coalition of enthusiasts who called every single lawmaker in Texas to educate them on why Keis should be legal and why the Texas DMV had made a mistake in banning Keis. Lone Star Kei’s work reached a critical success in April 2024 when the Texas DMV decided to reverse the ban. Texas was the first state to beat the 2021 AAMVA guidance, which meant Kei owners in the state could finally drive their vehicles again.

Now, this is where Lone Star Kei could have stopped. However, the group realized that their work wasn’t done yet. There’s a problem with just changing the policy at the DMV, and it’s that a future version of that DMV could just decide to ban vehicles again. Policies are easily changed. So, Lone Star Kei is fighting to get a law passed to protect Kei vehicles. The enthusiasts have called 180 representatives and have been full throttle in their Kei advocacy. Now, they’ve scored one of the greatest victories yet. But it’s not quite done.

The Lone Star State’s Woes

Back in March 2024, I spoke with McChristian about what was then the situation in Texas.

Enthusiasts in the state had been dealing with a state-induced migraine for nearly two decades. If you search through enthusiast forum posts, you’ll find that mini-truck owners in the state had been reporting issues in getting their vehicles registered since at least 2007. However, many of those people owned new mini-trucks, or the kinds of trucks that are imported for off-road use only and are limited to a top speed of just 25 mph.

Those who owned over 25-year-old Kei trucks (recall that there’s a federal rule against importing newer-than-25-year-old-vehicles), or trucks without speed limiters that were built and imported for road use, had some issues, but also reported lots of successes. Texas didn’t necessarily have a direct law that banned these vehicles, but in the eyes of the DMV, mini-trucks and many Keis were not motor vehicles. In 2009, enthusiasts had enough and were able to convince Senator Phil King to introduce House Bill 4495, which would have legalized mini-trucks in the state. Sadly, the bill died quickly without much support.

For a while, owners of over 25-year-old Kei trucks reported successes in getting their trucks registered, anyway. In a sense, Kei trucks entered into a sort of legal purgatory, where they weren’t explicitly banned nor explicitly legal. State DMV offices more or less made judgment calls, with lots of folks successfully getting papers for their trucks and vans.

Unfortunately, this wouldn’t last. In summer 2021, the state of Maine made a shocking change to its laws. Practically overnight, the state had decided that any vehicle not built to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) was now unsafe and should have its registration removed. At the time, several Mitsubishi Delica owners and the owners of all kinds of other imported vehicles reported having their registrations pulled by the state. Since that first flurry of vehicles banned by the state, I’ve been told that the state hasn’t enforced its law very well, but the law is still there.

Why States Ban Cars

But why would Maine seemingly randomly decide to do this? Maine’s law traces back to the now-infamous American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA), a non-profit and non-governmental lobbying organization run by DMV administrators and law enforcement in all 50 states, Washington D.C., Canada, Mexico, and the Virgin Islands.

AAMVA has been studying the safety of 25 mph speed-limited mini-trucks for nearly two decades, and with a little bit of help from crash testing by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, determined that mini-trucks are too unsafe for American consumption. States that banned speed-limited mini-trucks from their roads back in the 2010s can link their bans back to AAMVA.

In recent years, AAMVA has broadened the scope of its fight. Now, AAMVA thinks that every vehicle not built to FMVSS — that’s an over 25-year-old import from any country, an old military Jeep, dune buggy, and other oddball — is too unsafe to be driven on the road in America. Weirdly, while AAMVA recommends that every state in the nation ban any and all vehicles not built to FMVSS, it also specifically targets Kei trucks to be banned. I have written extensively about AAMVA; click here for more.

New York, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Rhode Island, Michigan, Massachusetts, Texas, Illinois, and Colorado all followed AAMVA’s recommendations to varying degrees. The old version of the Texas Vehicle Title Manual made it pretty clear that the state wasn’t interested in Keis:

Mini-trucks
Vast numbers of used Japanese mini-trucks and vans (also known as Kei-class vehicles) are being imported into the US primarily as off-road vehicles. Some states allow mini-trucks to operate on roadways as low or slow speed vehicles. Mini-trucks are not eligible for title or registration due the vehicle’s lack of compliance with US environmental and safety standards.

Texas began hating on Keis so much that the Texas Vehicle Title Manual mentioned its Kei ban twice:

Texas didn’t change a law like Maine did. Instead, it just changed DMV policy. I searched through the Texas Transportation Code and found no mention of Keis or even Mini-Trucks. Yet, Texas did follow Maine’s lead in one way and enforcement was infuriatingly spotty. Some Texans reported no problem registering their Keis while others said their DMV offices wouldn’t even give them the time of day.

Kei owners in Texas can thank the collaborative efforts of Lone Star Kei for sorting this issue out and permitting all Keis to drive on Texas roads. The strategies employed by Texas were also used in Massachusetts, Michigan, and Colorado to great success. Not only did those states reverse their bans, but Colorado even passed the first law demolishing AAMVA’s language since 2019.

Beating The Bans

Now, Texas might have done it again. The state legislature just passed the best law to protect imports yet. On March 3, Senator Kelly Hancock filed SB 1816, which stated:

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 501, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Section 501.039 to read as follows:
Sec. 501.039. TITLE FOR MINIATURE VEHICLE. (a) In this section, “miniature vehicle” has the meaning assigned by Section 502.001.
(b) For the purposes of issuing a title under this chapter, a miniature vehicle is considered to be a motor vehicle.
(c) This section applies only to a miniature vehicle that:
(1) was 25 years of age or older at the time of import into the United States; or
(2) at the time of the issuance of the title, is 25 years of age or older and has previously been issued a valid title in the United States.

The bill then went to great lengths to describe a Kei vehicle:

SECTION 2. Section 502.001, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Subdivision (21-a) to read as follows:
(21-a) “Miniature vehicle” means a miniature car, truck, van, or bus manufactured in Japan that:
(A) is powered by an internal combustion engine with a displacement of 1,200 cubic centimeters or less;
(B) has a width of 60 inches or less;
(C) has a length of 140 inches or less;
(D) has a height of 80 inches or less;
(E) has a top speed of at least 50 miles per hour;
(F) is designed to propel itself with four or more tires in contact with the ground;
(G) is equipped with:
(i) a speedometer; and
(ii) all equipment required for miniature vehicles under Section 547.106 or rules adopted by the Department of Public Safety under Section 547.106; and
(H) has a manufacturer’s permanent vehicle identification number, as defined by Section 501.002.

The bill stated that if passed, Keis would be treated like normal road vehicles. They wouldn’t have any speed restrictions and could use any road, just like any other car. The only stipulations were that the vehicle had to meet federal regulations (in this case, be over 25 years old) and had to meet general state roadworthiness requirements like lights, mirrors, and a parking brake.

The wild part is that the law, which passed yesterday and isn’t likely to be vetoed, is even more lenient than the bill. The law, which would go into effect on September 1, 2025, completely ditches trying to define what a Kei is:

SECTION 2. Section 502.001, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Subdivision (21-a) to read as follows:
(21-a) “Miniature vehicle” means a miniature motor vehicle that:
(A) is designed to propel itself with four or more tires in contact with the ground;
(B) complies with applicable federal law; and
(C) is not a custom vehicle or street rod, as those terms are defined by Section 504.501, a neighborhood electric vehicle, as defined by Section 551.301, a golf cart, as defined by Section 551.401, or an off-highway vehicle, as defined by Section 551A.001.

Boom, that’s it. Texas isn’t trying to define Keis by engine displacement, country of origin, VIN digit count, or by size. Instead, to the state, a “miniature vehicle” is functionally the same thing as a regular motor vehicle. That’s great! The rest of the law reads similarly to the original bill, where the state will allow Keis on every road and treat them like regular cars.

SB 1816 has passed both chambers unanimously, with lawmakers approving of the bill and showing a rare bit of bipartisanship. Update: David McChristian explains what happens next:

The bill states that if it’s passed with 2/3rd majority, it will go into effect immediately. It was passed unanimously in both the House & Senate. So after the Speaker and Lt. Governor sign it, which usually takes a day or two, the Governor has 10 days to sign it or not sign it. If he doesn’t sign it, it goes into effect after the 10 days.

He could still veto, but that seems unlikely at this point due to the fact that they are already 100% street legal as of April 4th, 2024 via DMV policy.

Gov. Abbott is expected to sign the bill, and thankfully, this bill doesn’t have any silly gotchas like the bill that just failed in Georgia.

Still, Lone Star Kei isn’t taking any chances, and it’s urging its members to send the Governor’s office the letter above.

Should nothing go wrong on this final step, Texas will have shown itself to be a surprisingly awesome advocate for imports yet again. Keis will be treated like normal cars, as they should be. If your state bans Keis, work with your government to fix that, rather than make the government an adversary to defeat. I hope other states will follow this lead, I know I’m certainly trying here in Illinois.