[Senate Report 115-327]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 560
115th Congress} { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 115-327
======================================================================
INTERSTATE TRANSPORT ACT OF 2017
__________
R E P O R T
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
ON
S. 1092
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
August 27, 2018.--Ordered to be printed
SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
one hundred fifteenth congress
second session
JOHN THUNE, South Dakota, Chairman
ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi BILL NELSON, Florida
ROY BLUNT, Missouri MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
TED CRUZ, Texas AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota
DEB FISCHER, Nebraska RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut
JERRY MORAN, Kansas BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii
DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts
DEAN HELLER, Nevada TOM UDALL, New Mexico
JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
MIKE LEE, Utah TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin
RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois
SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia MARGARETWOODHASSAN,NewHampshire
CORY GARDNER, Colorado CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada
TODD C. YOUNG, Indiana JON TESTER, Montana
Nick Rossi, Staff Director
Adrian Arnakis, Deputy Staff Director
Jason Van Beek, General Counsel
Kim Lipsky, Democratic Staff Director
Christopher Day, Democratic Deputy Staff Director
Calendar No. 560
115th Congress} { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 115-327
======================================================================
INTERSTATE TRANSPORT ACT OF 2017
_______
August 27, 2018.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Thune, from the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1092]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to
which was referred the bill (S. 1092) to protect the right of
law-abiding citizens to transport knives interstate,
notwithstanding a patchwork of local and State prohibitions,
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an
amendment (in the nature of a substitute) and recommends that
the bill (as amended) do pass.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of S. 1092 is to allow a knife owner to legally
carry a knife while transiting through a State that restricts
knives, as long as the knife owner is traveling from a State
where a knife is legal to another State where a knife is legal
and the knife is properly secured. S. 1092 does not apply to
travel on commercial aircraft.
Background and Needs
Knife laws vary from State to State; in some States it is
illegal to carry many types of knives. If a knife owner,
legally carrying a knife in one State, transits through a State
where carrying the same knife is illegal, the individual is
subject to arrest or fine. This makes it burdensome for a legal
knife owner to travel across State lines for work, recreation,
or other purposes. A similar interstate legal framework was
addressed in 1986 for firearms under the Firearms Owners'
Protection Act (FOPA).\1\ FOPA allows a firearm owner to
legally transit a firearm across State lines as long as the
firearm is properly secured and legal in both the State of
origin and the State of destination.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\P.L. 99-308; 100 Stat. 449.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary of Provisions
If enacted, S. 1092 would do the following:
Allow an individual to transport a properly secured
knife from one State in which the knife is legal, through any
State, to another State in which the knife is legal.
Allow emergency knives to be accessible to drivers
and passengers.
Provide protection from wrongful arrests.
Legislative History
S. 1092 was introduced on May 10, 2017, by Senator Enzi
(for himself and Senators Daines, Heinrich, Manchin, Risch, and
Wyden). Senators Udall, Crapo, Merkley, Lee, and Baldwin are
also cosponsors of the bill. On June 27, 2018, the Committee
met in open Executive Session, and by voice vote, ordered S.
1092 reported favorably with an amendment (in the nature of a
substitute). The reported bill closely resembles a bill that
the Committee favorably reported by voice in the 114th
Congress.
On January 3, 2017, Representative Andy Biggs (R-AZ)
introduced H.R. 84, The Knife Owners Protection Act of 2017.
That bill is similar to S. 1092, but it also would allow a
knife owner to sue States and municipalities that unlawfully
arrest an individual transporting a knife. H.R. 84 also would
repeal the Switchblade Knife Act,\2\ which makes it illegal to
manufacture, import, distribute, sell, or transport any knife
considered a switchblade. Senator Crapo also has introduced S.
1779, Freedom of Commerce Act, which would legalize
switchblades.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\15 U.S.C. 1241 et seq.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Similar bills to S. 1092 and H.R. 84 were introduced in the
114th Congress by Senator Enzi (S. 567, S. 1315) and
Representative Matt Salmon (H.R. 419). S. 1092 reflects
negotiated language with bipartisan support.
Estimated Costs
In accordance with paragraph 11(a) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate and section 403 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee provides the
following cost estimate, prepared by the Congressional Budget
Office:
S. 1092--Interstate Transport Act of 2018
S. 1092 would allow people to transport a knife between
jurisdictions where it is legal to possess and carry such a
knife if certain conditions are met. (That authority would not
apply to people who are otherwise prohibited from lawfully
possessing, transporting, shipping, or receiving knives.) S.
1092 also would repeal the Federal Switchblade Act, thus
removing federal prohibitions related to the interstate
commerce of switchblade knives.
CBO estimates that enacting S. 1092 would not affect the
federal budget. Using information from the Department of
Homeland Security, CBO expects that the bill would not affect
federal spending related to transportation security or the
enforcement of laws related to possessing and transporting
knives. (Such spending is subject to appropriation.) S. 1092
would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-
as-you-go procedures do not apply.
CBO estimates that enacting S. 1092 would not increase net
direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029.
S. 1092 would impose an intergovernmental mandate as
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) by
preempting some state and local laws related to possessing and
transporting knives. Laws regulating knives vary from state to
state. If enacted, the bill would allow people to possess
knives in states where they are illegal if the person is
traveling to and from states where the knife is legal, so long
as the knife is secured, or if the knife is a safety blade
designed for cutting seatbelts. The costs for state and local
governments to comply with that mandate would include the cost
to change protocols and train law enforcement officers. CBO
estimates the total costs for state and local governments would
be small and would not exceed the threshold established in UMRA
($80 million in 2018, adjusted annually for inflation).
S. 1092 contains no private-sector mandates as defined in
UMRA.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Megan Carroll
(for federal costs) and Jon Sperl (for mandates). The estimate
was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant Director
for Budget Analysis.
Regulatory Impact Statement
In accordance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides the
following evaluation of the regulatory impact of the
legislation, as reported:
number of persons covered
S. 1092, as reported, would allow millions of knife owners
to legally travel with their knives across State lines for
work, recreation, or other purposes.
economic impact
Enactment of this legislation is not expected to have a
negative impact on the Nation's economy.
privacy
The reported bill is not expected to impact the personal
privacy of individuals.
paperwork
S. 1092 would not create increases in paperwork burdens if
enacted.
Congressionally Directed Spending
In compliance with paragraph 4(b) of rule XLIV of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides that no
provisions contained in the bill, as reported, meet the
definition of congressionally directed spending items under the
rule.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1. Short title.
This section would provide that the bill may be cited as
the ``Interstate Transportation Act of 2018.''
Section 2. Interstate transportation of knives.
This section would federally authorize knife owners to
travel by ground through a State that restricts knives, as long
as the knife owners are traveling from a State in which the
knives are legal to another State in which the knives are
legal. Furthermore, this section would require that the knives
be properly secured, either by being inaccessible from the
passenger compartment or, in the case with no passenger
compartment, by being locked in a container that is not a glove
compartment or console. This requirement would not apply to
emergency knives, which are defined as tools with blunt tipped
or guarded blades for cutting safety belts to enable escape.
Knife owners traveling by passenger aircraft subject to the
jurisdiction of the Transportation Safety Administration are
not covered by the provisions of this section.
Section 2 would explicitly prohibit the detention of a
knife owner who is in compliance with this section--absent
probable cause that an owner is not in compliance--and would
further allow a defendant to invoke this section as an
affirmative defense in any civil or criminal proceeding.
Changes in Existing Law
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee states that the
bill as reported would make no change to existing law.
[all]