STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4484

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 16, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  BENEDETTO  --  read once and referred to the
          Committee on Local Governments

        AN ACT to amend the general municipal  law,  in  relation  to  municipal
          shooting  ranges;  and directing the department of health to conduct a
          study describing the contaminants and other pollutants in  the  ground
          and water bodies adjacent to certain shooting ranges

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. The general municipal  law  is  amended  by  adding  a  new
     2  section 97-a to read as follows:
     3    §  97-a.  Municipal shooting ranges.   1. All shooting ranges owned or
     4  used by a municipality, including shooting ranges used by  law  enforce-
     5  ment  for  training  purposes,  shall only be in operation between eight
     6  a.m. and eight p.m.  and only operate one weekend per month.
     7    2. Such shooting ranges shall be  fully  enclosed  with  proper  sound
     8  abatement  and  any  bombs  detonated  at  such  shooting range shall be
     9  performed in a fully enclosed  area.    Any  noise  or  noise  pollution
    10  resulting  from  the activity on such shooting range shall be in compli-
    11  ance with any applicable noise control laws or ordinances,  or,  if  the
    12  applicable  noise  control  laws  or  ordinances have no legal force and
    13  effect against such owner or user  or  there  are  no  applicable  noise
    14  control  laws  or  ordinances  at the time of the effective date of this
    15  section, then the A-weighted sound level  of  small  arms  fire  on  the
    16  shooting  range  shall not exceed 90 dB(A) for one hour out of a day, or
    17  shall not exceed 80 dB(A) for eight hours out of a day measured  at,  or
    18  adjusted  to,  a  distance of one hundred feet outside the real property
    19  boundary of the shooting range.
    20    3. For the purposes of this section:
    21    (a) "Shooting range" shall mean a range equipped with targets for  use
    22  with  firearms  and  shall  include,  but  not be limited to, all rifle,
    23  pistol and shotgun ranges and ranges used for training law  enforcement,

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07975-01-3

        A. 4484                             2

     1  including  ranges  used  for automatic and semiautomatic weapons and the
     2  detonation of bombs.
     3    (b) "A-weighted sound level" shall mean the sound pressure level meas-
     4  ured  by  the use of an instrument with the metering characteristics and
     5  A-weighting frequency response prescribed by sound  level  meters  using
     6  the impulse response mode.
     7    (c)  "Sound  pressure  level" shall mean twenty times the logarithm to
     8  the base ten of the ratio of the root mean squared pressure of  a  sound
     9  to a reference pressure of twenty micropascals. The unit applied to this
    10  measure shall be the decibel (dB).
    11    (d)  "Small  arms"  shall  mean  projectile firearms of small caliber,
    12  including rifles, pistols and shotguns.
    13    § 2. The department of health, with the assistance of  the  department
    14  of  environmental  conservation,  shall  conduct  a study describing the
    15  contaminants and other pollutants in the ground and  water  bodies  that
    16  are  adjacent  to  each  shooting range owned or used by a municipality,
    17  including any shooting ranges  used  by  law  enforcement  for  training
    18  purposes. The department of health shall deliver a written report of its
    19  findings  to  the governor and the legislature one year after the effec-
    20  tive date of this act. The department shall also establish a remediation
    21  plan, if needed, and shall make such a plan  readily  available  on  the
    22  department's website.
    23    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.