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HB 4063
This proposal did not become law. The bill legalizes the titling, registration, and highway operation of small Japanese and South Korean micro-trucks (Kei trucks) in Oregon, sets a fixed $63 biennial registration fee, would have exempted them from federal safety certification, state equipment rules, pollution controls, and ethanol fuel mandates, but would have prohibited their use on roads with speed limits exceeding 65 mph.
Generated explanation · Introduced · Analyzed 8/19/2026 · Open official Introduced text
This proposal did not become law.
Generated analysis of Introduced text; it does not establish that the bill applies to you. Read the full decision brief.
No upcoming event is verified in the available records.
Plain-language analysis
Generated analysis, not an official summary or legal advice. Confirm with linked Oregon documents.
This proposal did not become law. The generated effects below describe what it would have required if enacted.
The bill legalizes the titling, registration, and highway operation of small Japanese and South Korean micro-trucks (Kei trucks) in Oregon, sets a fixed $63 biennial registration fee, would have exempted them from federal safety certification, state equipment rules, pollution controls, and ethanol fuel mandates, but would have prohibited their use on roads with speed limits exceeding 65 mph.
Basis: Bill text · Source: Introduced
Official sources do not state why this measure was proposed.
Sponsor testimony, staff summaries, committee materials, or statutory findings may explain it.
Inferred from cited text; not a stated purpose.
The measure addresses a niche market demand for affordable, maneuverable utility vehicles by creating a compliant pathway for importing small micro-trucks that currently cannot meet federal safety and emissions standards, while mitigating highway risk through speed restrictions.
Basis: Inferred · Source: Introduced
Potential effect if enacted: Gain legal titling and registration without proving federal compliance, avoid state equipment inspections and pollution controls, access non-ethanol gasoline, but face a $63 biennial fee and a prohibition on roads exceeding 65 mph.
Basis: Bill text · Source: Introduced
Gains authority to title/register these vehicles and collect fees, but loses the ability to require federal certification proof or VIN inspections for them; would have had to enforce speed limit restrictions.
Basis: Bill text · Source: Introduced
Might have encountered more small, lightweight utility vehicles on roads ≤65 mph; potential exposure to safety risks if these vehicles lack standard crash protection or emissions controls.
Basis: Bill text · Source: Introduced
Would have had to allow the sale of non-ethanol gasoline to Kei truck owners and cannot apply state pollution control requirements to them, reducing regulatory oversight for this vehicle class.
Basis: Bill text · Source: Introduced
Behavior: Owners could have legallied import and operate these vehicles on public roads ≤65 mph without federal safety certification.
Basis: Bill text · Source: Introduced
Obligations: Registration would have required standard ownership proof; no state equipment or pollution inspections are mandated.
Basis: Bill text · Source: Introduced
Potential effect if enacted: Costs: Fixed biennial registration fee of $63; no additional compliance or inspection costs imposed by the state.
Basis: Bill text · Source: Introduced
Potential effect if enacted: Eligibility: Limited to vehicles meeting strict dimensional, displacement, and age criteria (≥25 years old) manufactured in Japan or South Korea.
Basis: Bill text · Source: Introduced
Enforcement: Law enforcement could have issued a Class B traffic violation for operation on roads with speed limits >65 mph; maximum fine is $1,000.
Basis: Bill text · Source: Introduced
Access: would have removed barriers to importing small utility vehicles that previously failed federal certification, expanding options for hobbyists and agricultural/commercial users.
Basis: Bill text · Source: Introduced
Potential effect if enacted: Risk: Vehicles operate without standard crash protection or emissions controls, increasing potential safety and environmental externalities on moderate-speed roads.
Basis: Bill text · Source: Introduced
Agricultural cooperatives and utility operators
Potential effect if enacted: A rural farming cooperative legally imports 25 Kei trucks for under $1,000 each to transport tools and harvests across county roads ≤65 mph, saving tens of thousands in federal compliance costs while avoiding ethanol fuel restrictions that damage older small engines.
Basis: Inferred · Source: Introduced
Highway users and vehicle occupants
Potential effect if enacted: An owner operates a modified Kei truck with no seatbelts or airbags on a 60 mph highway during heavy rain; the vehicle's lightweight frame and lack of federal crash standards lead to severe injury, but enforcement cannot penalize the operator for the road speed since it remains under the 65 mph threshold.
Basis: Inferred · Source: Introduced
The text would have legally permitted operation on roads ≤65 mph without safety or emissions compliance. Weak enforcement or misclassification could have allowed owners to use these vehicles as unregulated commercial transport or daily commuters, exploiting exemptions from federal standards and state equipment rules while avoiding regulatory duty creep into broader vehicle oversight.
Sources · Introduced
Would have expanded legal access to affordable, specialized micro-trucks for utility and hobbyist use at the cost of reduced federal safety certification, state emissions oversight, and highway speed restrictions. Upsides include lower costs, increased utility vehicle options, and regulatory relief. Downsides include potential safety gaps on moderate-speed roads, environmental compliance bypass, and enforcement challenges regarding speed limits and commercial misuse.
Potential effect if enacted: Lower acquisition and registration costs for niche utility vehicles.
Basis: Bill text · Source: Introduced
Potential effect if enacted: Increased vehicle options for hobbyists, farmers, and small businesses seeking maneuverable transport.
Basis: Bill text · Source: Introduced
Potential effect if enacted: Regulatory relief from federal certification, state equipment rules, and ethanol fuel mandates.
Basis: Bill text · Source: Introduced
Potential effect if enacted: Potential safety gaps on moderate-speed roads due to lack of federal crash protection standards.
Basis: Bill text · Source: Introduced
Potential effect if enacted: Environmental compliance bypass through exemptions from pollution controls and ethanol fuel requirements.
Basis: Bill text · Source: Introduced
Potential effect if enacted: Enforcement challenges regarding speed limit compliance and potential commercial misuse of hobbyist exemptions.
Basis: Bill text · Source: Introduced
Model self-rating: high. Analysis is strictly derived from the single introduced bill-text version provided. No external assumptions or prior versions were used. This is the model’s assessment of its own analysis, not independent verification or human review.
4 records currently loaded
Records available in the current snapshot.
Earliest loaded signal
Introduced bill text posted
Posted Jan 28, 2026, 3:25 PM PST
Not a qualifying replacement
Only the introduced bill is available as adopted text; proposed amendments do not establish a qualifying adopted replacement.
AI assessment dated 2026-09-29. This classification is separate from enactment and legal effect.
Evidence snapshot: 2026-09-29. Later legislative records are not automatically reassessed.
Policy purpose: broadly retained.
Reviewer: /root/review_recent_a · 2026-09-29
Not a qualifying replacement
Only the introduced bill is available as adopted text; proposed amendments do not establish a qualifying adopted replacement.
Policy purpose: broadly retained.
“SECTION 1. Section 2 of this 2026 Act is added to and made a part of the Oregon Vehicle 6 Code. 7 SECTION 2. “Kei truck” means a motor vehicle that: 8 (1) Was originally manufactured in Japan or South Korea; 9 (2) Has an engine that has a piston or rotor displacement of 660 c”
Introduced
“SECTION 1. Section 2 of this 2026 Act is added to and made a part of the Oregon Vehicle 6 Code. 7 SECTION 2. “Kei truck” means a motor vehicle that: 8 (1) Was originally manufactured in Japan or South Korea; 9 (2) Has an engine that has a piston or rotor displacement of 660 c”
Introduced
Reviewer: /root/review_recent_b · 2026-09-29
Not a qualifying replacement
The introduced vehicle-registration policy is the sole official version.
Policy purpose: broadly retained.
“SECTION 1. Section 2 of this 2026 Act is added to and made a part of the Oregon Vehicle 6 Code. 7 SECTION 2. “Kei truck” means a motor vehicle that: 8 (1) Was originally manufactured in Japan or South Korea; 9 (2) Ha”
Introduced
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No deeper official pre-number history was found.
Chief sponsors: Representative Virgle Osborne, Senator Anthony Broadman, Representative Alek Skarlatos, Representative Hai Pham
Regular sponsors: Representative Court Boice, Representative Vikki Breese-Iverson, Representative Matt Bunch, Representative Jami Cate, Representative Ed Diehl, Representative Darcey Edwards, Representative Paul Evans, Representative Jeffrey Helfrich, Representative Bobby Levy, Representative Rick Lewis, Representative Kevin Mannix, Representative Emily McIntire, Representative Travis Nelson, Representative Rob Nosse, Representative Mark Owens, Representative Sue Rieke Smith, Representative Anna Scharf, Representative Boomer Wright, Representative Dwayne Yunker, Senator Lew Frederick, Senator Floyd Prozanski, Senator David Brock Smith
Records already listed in Activity are not repeated here.
Official origin records are incomplete; missing facts are not inferred.
4 events
Full timeline
4 entries shown.
In committee upon adjournment.
Referred to Transportation.
First reading. Referred to Speaker's desk.
reational vehicles. 14 SECTION 5. ORS 803.420, as amended by section 18 (6)(e), chapter 1, Oregon Laws 2025 (special 15 session), is amended to read: 16 803.420. (1) The vehicle registrat
RS 805.060, $10. 13 SECTION 6. If Ballot Measure ___ (2026) (referring parts of chapter 1, Oregon Laws 2025 14 (special session)) is approved by the voters at an election held throughout
throughout this state, ORS 803.420, 15 as amended by section 18 (6)(a) to (e), chapter 1, Oregon Laws 2025 (special session), is amended to 16 read: 17 803.420. (1) The vehicle registrat
“Allows a person to title and register a Kei truck in Oregon.”
Confirm with the official record.
Supplemental, source-linked analysis from project researchers and community contributors. It is separate from Oregon's official record.