Interstate Transport Act of 2025
Summary
What This Bill Does
The bill defines transport broadly to include normal travel stops, temporary lodging, common-carrier delays, emergencies, and medical treatment, but excludes transport connected to serious violent offenses. It entitles a person who is not federally prohibited from possessing a knife to transport it between places where possession is lawful if the knife is stored outside direct passenger access or in a locked container. It excludes passenger-aircraft cabins subject to TSA rules and separately permits certain blunt-tipped or guarded emergency belt-cutting tools in passenger compartments.
Who Benefits and How
Lawful knife owners benefit from a federal safe-passage rule when traveling through jurisdictions with different knife laws. Travelers benefit because normal stops for food, fuel, lodging, emergencies, and medical treatment do not break protected transport. Knife retailers and manufacturers benefit from clearer interstate transport rules for customers moving lawful knives. Emergency tool users benefit because certain blunt-tipped or guarded safety-belt cutters may be carried in passenger compartments outside aircraft cabins.
Who Bears the Burden and How
State law enforcement agencies must account for the federal transport protection when applying local knife restrictions. Local prosecutors face preemption limits when the person complied with origin, destination, and storage requirements. Travelers must lock or separate knives from the passenger compartment unless the item is a qualifying emergency escape tool. TSA passenger-aircraft rules remain controlling for knife or tool transport in aircraft cabins.
Key Provisions
- Defines protected transport to include ordinary travel interruptions such as lodging, fuel stops, maintenance, emergencies, and common-carrier delays.
- Preempts contrary state and local rules for lawful interstate knife transport between places where possession is lawful.
- Requires knives transported by motor vehicle to be inaccessible from the passenger compartment or kept in a locked container.
- Requires non-motor-vehicle transport to use a locked container.
- Excludes passenger-aircraft cabins under TSA rules and creates a limited passenger-compartment allowance for guarded emergency belt-cutting tools.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Creates a federal safe-passage rule for lawful interstate knife transport, preempting state or local restrictions when a person may lawfully possess the knife at the origin and destination and keeps it inaccessible or locked during travel.
Key Policy Areas
Civil Liberties, Transportation, Public Safety
Primary Purpose
Creates a federal safe-passage rule for lawful interstate knife transport, preempting state or local restrictions when a person may lawfully possess the knife at the origin and destination and keeps it inaccessible or locked during travel.
Policy Domains
Bill provisions
Identified Gains
- Lawful knife owners
- Travelers
- Knife retailers
- Knife manufacturers
- Emergency tool users
Identified Costs
- State law enforcement agencies
- Local prosecutors
- Travelers
- Transportation Security Administration
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
ReportedCommittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cruz …
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. …
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported …
Introduced in Senate
Mr. Budd (for himself, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Heinrich, …
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, …
Mr. Budd (for himself, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Heinrich, …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "tsa"
- → Transportation Security Administration
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology