HB 308: Motor vehicles; operation of miniature on-road vehicles on certain highways; provide

Currently Georgia law does not have a specific registration category for small imported vehicles built for roads in other countries, such as Japanese kei-style cars and trucks. HB308 creates a new definition, 'miniature on-road vehicle,' covering imported vehicles that carry people, run between 25 and 65 mph, are no wider than 80 inches, have four or more wheels, a steering wheel, a non-bench seat, weigh under 4,000 pounds, and are not golf carts, ATVs, or off-road utility vehicles. Vehicles more than 25 years old, or newer ones modified by a federally registered importer to meet U.S. safety standards, could be registered and titled, get license plates, and pay a $20 annual fee plus a flat property tax similar to antique vehicles. They would need headlights, brake lights, taillights, a mirror, and seat belts, and could only drive on city and county roads (crossing state highways), unless a local government bans them by ordinance with posted signs. The bill also lets judges order convicted reckless stunt drivers to have a speed-limiting device installed on their vehicle for at least six months, ends fingerprinting for illegal window tinting, and changes traffic citations so drivers may, rather than must, sign to acknowledge receipt. Most provisions would take effect October 1, 2025, except a license-plate design section effective January 1, 2032. As of May 14, 2025, the bill has been vetoed.

• Creates a legal category for 'miniature on-road vehicles' (small imported cars/trucks built for foreign roads) and sets specific size, speed, weight, and design standards for them.
• Allows these vehicles to be registered and titled in Georgia if they are over 25 years old or have been modified by a federally registered importer to meet U.S. safety standards.
• Sets a $20 annual license fee for miniature on-road vehicles and taxes them like antique cars, based on a flat $100 valuation, instead of full market value.
• Requires these vehicles to have headlights, brake lights, taillights, a rearview mirror, and seat belts, and restricts them to city and county roads unless a local government bans them by ordinance with posted signs.
• Lets courts order people convicted of reckless stunt driving to have a speed-limiting device installed on their car for at least six months, with violations of the order punished as a misdemeanor.
• Removes the requirement that drivers must sign traffic citations, letting them choose whether to sign, and ends fingerprinting for illegal window tinting violations.

Owners and importers of small foreign-market vehicles seeking to register them in Georgia, county tag offices and the Department of Revenue, local governments deciding whether to allow these vehicles on their roads, drivers convicted of reckless stunt driving, and anyone issued a traffic citation or cited for illegal window tinting.

Georgians who own or want to import small foreign vehicles would gain a legal path to register, plate, and drive them on local roads, something not clearly available today. Local governments could still block them, and people convicted of dangerous stunt driving could face mandatory speed limiters on their cars.

• Section 1 defines 'miniature on-road vehicle' in O.C.G.A. § 40-1-1, covering imported passenger vehicles with specific speed, size, weight, and design limits.
• Section 2 and Section 7 exempt qualifying miniature on-road vehicles from standard certificate-of-title rules, based on age or safety-standard modification by a registered importer.
• Sections 3-6 set license plate design rules and a $20 annual registration fee for miniature on-road vehicles under O.C.G.A. §§ 40-2-31, 40-2-33, and 40-2-151.
• Section 8 requires safety equipment (headlights, brake lights, taillights, mirror, seat belts) and limits operation to municipal and county roads, allowing crossing of state highways.
• Section 9 lets local governments prohibit miniature on-road vehicles by ordinance, but requires posted signs before the ban takes effect.
• Section 10 lets a court order installation of a speed-limiting 'intelligent speed assistance device' for at least six months after a reckless stunt driving conviction, with violation of the order treated as a misdemeanor.
• Section 11 ends fingerprinting requirements for illegal window tinting violations under O.C.G.A. § 40-8-73.1.
• Section 12 changes traffic citation rules so signing is optional, and requires officers to write 'Refusal to Sign' if a person declines.

1. 2025-05-14Veto V1
2. 2025-05-14House Date Vetoed by Governor (House)
3. 2025-04-10House Sent to Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-04House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House)
5. 2025-04-02Senate Passed/Adopted As Amended (Senate)
6. 2025-04-02Senate Third Read (Senate)
7. 2025-04-02Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
8. 2025-03-31Senate Tabled (Senate)

• Rob Clifton (R, HD-131)Primary sponsor
• Marcus Wiedower (R, HD-121)
• Trey Rhodes (R, HD-124)
• John Corbett (R, HD-174)
• Robert Dickey (R, HD-134)
• Shaw Blackmon (R, HD-146)
• Lee Anderson (R, SD-24)

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 26, 2025

   170 yea, 1 nay (3 not voting, 6 excused)

   PASSAGE: House Vote #84

2. PassedSenate voteApril 2, 2025

   50 yea, 5 nay (0 not voting, 1 excused)

   ADOPTION OF THE AMENDMENT BY THE SEN FROM THE 32ND AS AMENDED: Senate Vote #419

3. PassedSenate voteApril 2, 2025

   47 yea, 6 nay (2 not voting, 1 excused)

   PASSAGE AS AMENDED: Senate Vote #420

4. PassedHouse voteApril 4, 2025

   104 yea, 60 nay (3 not voting, 13 excused)

   Agree to Senate Amendment: House Vote #415

• imported cars
• vehicle registration
• traffic laws
• reckless driving penalties
• license plates