Bill Details
S.246 - 119th Congress
Status
Latest action
2025-11-18 - Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 268.
Introduced Date
2025-01-24
Policy Area
Crime and Law Enforcement
Committees
View committees (1)
Sponsors
Cosponsors
7
0
0
AI Summary This summary was generated by AI from the bill text. AI can get information wrong.
This bill would make it easier for law-abiding people to travel across state lines with knives when they are doing so for a lawful purpose. It says that if someone can legally have the knife where they start and where they are going, state and local rules cannot block that trip as long as the knife is stored safely during travel. The bill also creates protections for people who are wrongly stopped or charged, and it sets special rules for emergency safety knives and for airline travel.
- For travel by car, the knife must not be reachable from the passenger area, or it must be in a locked container if the car has no separate trunk or compartment.
- For travel by other means, including by land or water, the knife must be in a locked container.
- The bill does not cover knives in the cabin of a passenger airplane, which remain subject to federal airport and airline security rules.
- If someone follows the law and is still arrested or taken to court, they may recover court costs and attorney fees, and any criminal records from a successful defense would be cleared from official records.
Official Summaries
Interstate Transport Act of 2025
This bill permits an individual to transport a knife between two places (e.g., states) where it is legal to possess, carry, or transport the knife. The knife must be transported in compliance with the bill's accessibility and secure storage requirements, unless it is an emergency knife or tool designed to cut seat belts.
An individual who is transporting a knife in compliance with this bill may not be arrested for a knife violation unless there is probable cause to believe the individual failed to comply with the accessibility or secure storage requirements.
Current Full Text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 246 Reported in Senate (RS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 268
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 246
[Report No. 119-96]
To protect the right of law-abiding citizens to transport knives
interstate, notwithstanding a patchwork of local and State
prohibitions.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 24, 2025
Mr. Budd (for himself, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Daines,
Mr. Peters, Mr. Risch, Ms. Lummis, and Mr. Barrasso) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation
November 18, 2025
Reported by Mr. Cruz, without amendment
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To protect the right of law-abiding citizens to transport knives
interstate, notwithstanding a patchwork of local and State
prohibitions.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Interstate Transport Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. INTERSTATE TRANSPORTATION OF KNIVES.
(a) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) State.--The term ``State'' means any of the 50 States,
the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico,
the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands of the United
States, and any other territory of the United States.
(2) Transport.--The term ``transport''--
(A) includes staying in temporary lodging
overnight, common carrier misrouting or delays, stops
for food, fuel, vehicle maintenance, emergencies, or
medical treatment, and any other activity related to
the journey of a person; and
(B) does not include transport of a knife with the
intent to commit an offense punishable by imprisonment
for a term exceeding 1 year involving the use or
threatened use of force against another person, or with
knowledge, or reasonable cause to believe, that such an
offense is to be committed in the course of, or arising
from, the journey.
(b) Transport of Knives.--
(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of any
law or any rule or regulation of a State or any political
subdivision thereof, a person who is not otherwise prohibited
by any Federal law from possessing, transporting, shipping, or
receiving a knife shall be entitled to transport a knife for
any lawful purpose from any place where the person may lawfully
possess, carry, or transport the knife to any other place where
the person may lawfully possess, carry, or transport the knife
if--
(A) in the case of transport by motor vehicle, the
knife--
(i) is not directly accessible from the
passenger compartment of the motor vehicle; or
(ii) in the case of a motor vehicle without
a compartment separate from the passenger
compartment, is contained in a locked container
other than the glove compartment or console;
and
(B) in the case of transport by means other than a
motor vehicle, including any transport over land or on
or through water, the knife is contained in a locked
container.
(2) Limitation.--This subsection shall not apply to the
transport of a knife or tool in the cabin of a passenger
aircraft subject to the rules and regulations of the
Transportation Security Administration.
(c) Emergency Knives.--
(1) In general.--A person--
(A) may carry in the passenger compartment of a
mode of transportation a knife or tool--
(i) the blades of which consist only of a
blunt tipped safety blade, a guarded blade, or
both; and
(ii) that is specifically designed for
enabling escape in an emergency by cutting
safety belts; and
(B) shall not be required to secure a knife or tool
described in subparagraph (A) in a locked container.
(2) Limitation.--This subsection shall not apply to the
transport of a knife or tool in the cabin of a passenger
aircraft subject to the rules and regulations of the
Transportation Security Administration.
(d) No Arrest.--A person who is transporting a knife in compliance
with this section may not be arrested for violation of any law, rule,
or regulation of a State or political subdivision of a State related to
the possession, transport, or carrying of a knife, unless there is
probable cause to believe that the person is not in compliance with
subsection (b).
(e) Costs.--If a person who asserts this section as a claim or
defense in a civil or criminal action or proceeding is a prevailing
party on the claim or defense, the court shall award costs and
reasonable attorney's fees incurred by the person.
(f) Expungement.--If a person who asserts this section as a claim
or defense in a criminal proceeding is a prevailing party on the claim
or defense, the court shall enter an order that directs that there be
expunged from all official records all references to--
(1) the arrest of the person for the offense as to which
the claim or defense was asserted;
(2) the institution of any criminal proceedings against the
person relating to such offense; and
(3) the results of the proceedings, if any.
(g) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to limit any right to possess, carry, or transport a knife
under applicable State law.
Calendar No. 268
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 246
[Report No. 119-96]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To protect the right of law-abiding citizens to transport knives
interstate, notwithstanding a patchwork of local and State
prohibitions.
_______________________________________________________________________
November 18, 2025
Reported without amendment