Sponsors (96)
The bill reduces taxes and provides clearer regulatory categories for certain less-than-lethal projectile devices—lowering costs and improving planning for producers and some users—while risking federal revenue, increasing availability and potential misuse of such devices, and creating administrative, compliance, and litigation uncertainties.
Manufacturers and importers of qualifying less-than-lethal projectile devices will no longer pay the firearms/ammunition excise tax on covered sales, lowering per-unit costs and (if sellers pass savings on) reducing retail prices for consumers.
Law enforcement, manufacturers, sellers, and regulators gain clearer legal and regulatory definitions and a predictable process (including required determinations and a publicly published annual list), reducing some compliance uncertainty and helping planning for product lines and permitted equipment.
Distinguishing devices intended not to cause death or serious injury from traditional firearms could offer public-safety benefits by clarifying which tools are intended as less-lethal for use by security personnel.
Removing the excise tax on qualifying less-than-lethal devices reduces federal excise revenue, potentially increasing deficits or reducing funding available for programs supported by that tax.
Loosening NFA and tax treatment and expanding availability of some projectile 'less-than-lethal' devices could increase the risk of misuse or serious injury in communities, creating new public-safety challenges for urban communities and law enforcement.
Requiring agency determinations (and using technical thresholds like a 500 ft/s velocity cutoff) risks delays, contested classifications, and litigation that would create compliance uncertainty and uneven enforcement for consumers, retailers, and manufacturers.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Establishes a federal definition for "less-than-lethal projectile devices," exempts qualifying devices from the firearms excise tax and certain NFA definitions, and requires agency classification and public lists.
Introduced March 18, 2025 by Scott Fitzgerald · Last progress February 24, 2026
Creates a federal definition for “less-than-lethal projectile devices,” exempts such devices from the firearms excise tax and from certain federal firearm definitions, and requires the Attorney General and the Treasury Secretary to classify devices on request and publish annual lists. The definition limits devices by design and capability (cannot readily accept common handgun/rifle/shotgun ammunition or fire projectiles over 500 ft/s; designed not likely to cause death/serious injury; cannot accept certain internal-feed magazines). Agencies must decide requests within 90 days, and Treasury must publish an approved-device list plus an annual report of borderline devices whose projectiles exceed 500 ft/s.