Regulations surrounding the import and registration of Japanese mini trucks 25 years or older are complicated. Each state sets its own rules regarding vehicle titling and registration, and that’s caused headaches for mini truck owners who legally imported their vehicles under federal law. Activists nationwide have been petitioning their state governments to explicitly protect these vehicles, and Texas is listening.
State Senator Kelly Hancock introduced SB 1816 on March 3, which codifies protections for imported Japanese minitrucks that are 25 years or older into state law. The new bill details what qualifies as a minitruck: “a miniature car, truck, van, or bus manufactured in Japan.” It has to have a combustion engine of 1.2 liters or smaller with a top speed of at least 50 miles per hour.
The imported trucks also must have a speedometer, headlights, taillights, turn signals, windshield wipers, and a rearview mirror if the owner wants to title it and operate it on state highways. The bill further protects these tiny trucks in Texas after activists successfully got the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles to change its policy that banned these vehicles. However, a policy change isn’t law, which this bill rectifies.
The proposed statue will have to make its way through the Texas legislature before it becomes law. If passed, the bill would take effect on September 1. However, there’s a chance the bill never makes it through. A state representative sponsored a similar bill in Georgia, but retired before it could advance, restarting that process.
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