Despite bipartisan support, Oregon House Bill HB 4063 did not pass in the House’s short session, which adjourned March 6, 2026. In fact, it never got to a vote. On February 20, David McChristian, a member of Lone Star Kei and JDM Oregon Advocates, said:
HB 4063 was referred to the House Transportation Committee early in the session, but it failed to meet the February 16th policy committee deadline. Because it wasn’t voted out of committee by that cutoff, the bill is effectively dead for the 2026 short session.
In essence, there were bigger fish to fry in Oregon’s short session, and HB 4063 didn’t get heard. Currently, Oregon does not allow kei vehicles to be registered for road use in the Beaver State. HB 4063 would’ve changed that.
McChristian stated in the JDM Oregon Advocacy Facebook group, “There was a lot of internal politics at play (unrelated to our kei bill) that made this specific short session challenging.” He went on to say that he’s “still hopeful for the regular session next year.” He also said we “just need to keep up the engagement and not give up. [It] took us 2.5 years to get a law passed in Texas!”
So, Where Does That Leave the Fate of Kei Vehicles in Oregon?
Nothing has changed for 2026 since the vote didn’t happen. Kei cars and trucks still aren’t legally allowed to be registered for road use. Our best hope in Oregon is that the bill gets reintroduced for the 2027 session.
For now, we’ll simply have to wait until the next House session. Sometimes good things take time. Fingers crossed for 2027.
Andy Lilienthal is an award-winning writer and has written professionally since 1999. He has over 13 years in the automotive aftermarket working at companies including Warn Industries, Bushwacker, and Lund International. Editorial works include writing and photography for off-road print magazines, to new-car reviews online. He’s a photographer with images in multiple magazines, blog sites, and The New York Times.
Leave a Reply