Description:
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.) 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. This revised cost estimate for S. 1092 supersedes CBO’s previous estimate, transmitted on August 6, 2018, which incorrectly indicated that the legislation would repeal the Federal Switchblade Act. That error in CBO’s description of the bill does not affect our estimates of federal costs or costs imposed on state and local governments, which are the same.
