S 246

Introduced

Interstate Transport Act of 2025

S. 246 To protect the right of law-abiding citizens to transport knives interstate, notwithstanding a patchwork of local and State prohibitions.

Introduced Jan 24, 2025

Latest action (Nov 18, 2025) Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 268.

Referred to

Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee

Policy area

Crime and Law Enforcement

Issues

Criminal Justice

Legislative subjects (5)

Criminal procedure and sentencing Intergovernmental relations Legal fees and court costs Motor vehicles State and local government operations

Summary

Allows law-abiding citizens to transport knives between states where such transport is legal, overriding state and local prohibitions.
Requires that knives transported by motor vehicle be either inaccessible from the passenger compartment or secured in a locked container.
Requires that knives transported by non-vehicular means be secured in a locked container.
Allows emergency escape knives with blunt or guarded blades to be carried in passenger compartments without a locked container.
Prohibits arrest for knife transport violations when a person is in compliance with this act, and requires courts to award attorney's fees to prevailing defendants.
Requires expungement of arrest and criminal records if a person successfully asserts this law as a defense in a criminal proceeding.

AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.

Sponsor (1)

Sen. Budd, Ted (R-NC)

8 cosponsors

Actions (5)

Nov 18, 2025 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 268. · senate
Nov 18, 2025 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cruz without amendment. With written report No. 119-96. · senate
Feb 5, 2025 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably. · senate
Jan 24, 2025 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. · senate
Jan 24, 2025 Introduced in Senate

More bills on these subjects (8)

Other bills that carry the most legislative subjects in common with this one (topical discovery — distinct from the procedural related bills above).

Similar bills (6)

Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.

Text versions (2)

Reported to Senate · Nov 18, 2025
Introduced in Senate · Jan 24, 2025

FromTo

Committee action

What happened to this bill in committee — the meetings where it was considered and every recorded vote taken on it.

Meetings where this bill was on the agenda

Business meeting to consider S.93, to amend the Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998 to address harmful algal blooms, S.98, to require the Federal Communications Commission to establish a vetting process for prospective applicants for high-cost universal service program funding, S.99, to require the Secretary of Commerce to produce a report that provides recommendations to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and impact of Department of Commerce programs related to supply chain resilience and manufacturing and industrial innovation, S.161, to require the Secretary of Transportation to issue rules relating to the testing procedures used under the New Car Assessment Program of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, S.195, to amend the Visit America Act to promote music tourism, S.216, to amend the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act to improve the administration of the Marine Debris Foundation, to amend the Marine Debris Act to improve the administration of the Marine Debris Program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, S.245, to require the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to establish a working group on cyber insurance, to require dissemination of informative resources for issuers and customers of cyber insurance, S.246, to protect the right of law-abiding citizens to transport knives interstate, notwithstanding a patchwork of local and State prohibitions, S.257, to improve the resilience of critical supply chains, S.258, to improve forecasting and understanding of tornadoes and other hazardous weather, S.260, to amend the Bottles and Breastfeeding Equipment Screening Act to require hygienic handling of breast milk and baby formula by security screening personnel of the Transportation Security Administration and personnel of private security companies providing security screening, S.278, to prohibit users who are under age 13 from accessing social media platforms, to prohibit the use of personalized recommendation systems on individuals under age 17, and limit the use of social media in schools, S.281, to require sellers of event tickets to disclose comprehensive information to consumers about ticket prices and related fees, to prohibit speculative ticketing, S.283, to require the Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and the Administrator of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to develop a standard methodology for identifying the country of origin of seafood to support enforcement against illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, S.306, to establish and maintain a coordinated program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that improves wildfire, fire weather, fire risk, and wildfire smoke related forecasting, detection, modeling, observations, and service delivery, S.314, to prohibit unfair and deceptive advertising of prices for hotel rooms and other places of short-term lodging, S.315, to require the Secretary of Transportation to issue a rule requiring access to AM broadcast stations in passenger motor vehicles, and the nomination of Howard Lutnick, of New York, to be Secretary of Commerce.Commerce, Science, and Transportation CommitteeFeb 5, 2025Business meeting

Full text

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.

(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.

(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

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