STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4781

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    February 14, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen. SANDERS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes

        AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to prohibiting persons  named
          on the No Fly List maintained by the Terrorist Screening Center admin-
          istered  by  the  Federal  Bureau  of  Investigation from obtaining or
          renewing a license to carry, possess, repair and dispose of firearms

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

     1    Section  1. Subdivision 1 of section 400.00 of the penal law, as sepa-
     2  rately amended by chapters 371 and 669 of the laws of 2022,  is  amended
     3  to read as follows:
     4    1. Eligibility. No license shall be issued or renewed pursuant to this
     5  section  except  by  the licensing officer, and then only after investi-
     6  gation and finding that all statements in a  proper  application  for  a
     7  license  are  true.  No license shall be issued or renewed except for an
     8  applicant (a) twenty-one years of age or older, provided, however,  that
     9  where  such  applicant  has  been  honorably  discharged from the United
    10  States army, navy, marine corps,  air  force  or  coast  guard,  or  the
    11  national  guard  of the state of New York, no such age restriction shall
    12  apply; (b) of good moral character, which,  for  the  purposes  of  this
    13  article,  shall  mean  having  the  essential character, temperament and
    14  judgement necessary to be entrusted with a weapon and to use it only  in
    15  a  manner that does not endanger oneself or others; (c) who has not been
    16  convicted anywhere of a felony or a serious offense or who  is  not  the
    17  subject  of  an  outstanding  warrant  of arrest issued upon the alleged
    18  commission of a felony or serious offense; (d) who  is  not  a  fugitive
    19  from  justice;  (e)  who  is  not an unlawful user of or addicted to any
    20  controlled substance as defined in section 21 U.S.C. 802; (f) who  being
    21  a  noncitizen (i) is not illegally or unlawfully in the United States or
    22  (ii) has not been admitted to the United  States  under  a  nonimmigrant
    23  visa  subject  to  the exception in 18 U.S.C. 922(y)(2); (g) who has not

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09507-01-3

        S. 4781                             2

     1  been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions; (h)
     2  who, having been a citizen of the United States, has not  renounced  his
     3  or  her  citizenship;  (i)  who  has  stated  whether he or she has ever
     4  suffered  any mental illness; (j) who has not been involuntarily commit-
     5  ted to a facility under the jurisdiction of an office of the  department
     6  of  mental  hygiene  pursuant  to  article nine or fifteen of the mental
     7  hygiene law, article seven hundred thirty or section 330.20 of the crim-
     8  inal procedure law or substantially similar laws  of  any  other  state,
     9  section  four  hundred  two or five hundred eight of the correction law,
    10  section 322.2 or 353.4 of the family court act,  has  not  been  civilly
    11  confined  in  a secure treatment facility pursuant to article ten of the
    12  mental hygiene law, or has not been the subject of a report made  pursu-
    13  ant  to  section  9.46  of the mental hygiene law; (k) who has not had a
    14  license revoked or who is not under a suspension or ineligibility  order
    15  issued  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of section 530.14 of the criminal
    16  procedure law or section eight hundred forty-two-a of the  family  court
    17  act;  (l) in the county of Westchester, who has successfully completed a
    18  firearms safety course  and  test  as  evidenced  by  a  certificate  of
    19  completion issued in his or her name and endorsed and affirmed under the
    20  penalties  of  perjury by a duly authorized instructor, except that: (i)
    21  persons who are honorably discharged from the United States army,  navy,
    22  marine  corps  or  coast guard, or of the national guard of the state of
    23  New York, and produce evidence of  official  qualification  in  firearms
    24  during  the  term  of  service  are not required to have completed those
    25  hours of a firearms safety course pertaining to the safe use,  carrying,
    26  possession,  maintenance and storage of a firearm; (ii) persons who were
    27  licensed to possess a pistol or revolver prior to the effective date  of
    28  this  paragraph  are  not  required  to have completed a firearms safety
    29  course and test, provided, however, persons with a license issued  under
    30  paragraph  (f) of subdivision two of this section prior to the effective
    31  date of the laws of two thousand twenty-two which amended this paragraph
    32  shall be required to complete the training required by subdivision nine-
    33  teen of this section prior to the recertification of such  license;  and
    34  (iii)  persons applying for a license under paragraph (f) of subdivision
    35  two of this section on or after the effective date of the chapter of the
    36  laws of two thousand twenty-two which amended this paragraph  who  shall
    37  be required to complete the training required under subdivision nineteen
    38  of  this  section  for  such  license;  (m)  who  has not had a guardian
    39  appointed for him or her pursuant to any provision of state  law,  based
    40  on  a  determination  that as a result of marked subnormal intelligence,
    41  mental illness, incompetency, incapacity, condition or  disease,  he  or
    42  she  lacks  the  mental  capacity  to  contract or manage his or her own
    43  affairs; (n)  who is not named on the No  Fly  List  maintained  by  the
    44  Terrorist Screening Center administrered by the Federal Bureau of Inves-
    45  tigation;  (o)  for  a license issued under paragraph (f) of subdivision
    46  two of this section, that the applicant has not  been  convicted  within
    47  five  years  of the date of the application of any of the following: (i)
    48  assault in the third degree, as defined in section 120.00 of this  chap-
    49  ter;  (ii)  misdemeanor driving while intoxicated, as defined in section
    50  eleven hundred ninety-two of the  vehicle  and  traffic  law;  or  (iii)
    51  menacing,  as  defined  in section 120.15 of this chapter; and [(o)] (p)
    52  for a license issued under paragraph (f)  of  subdivision  two  of  this
    53  section,  the  applicant shall meet in person with the licensing officer
    54  for an interview and shall, in addition  to  any  other  information  or
    55  forms  required by the license application submit to the licensing offi-
    56  cer the following information: (i) names and contact information for the

        S. 4781                             3

     1  applicant's current spouse, or domestic partner, any other adults resid-
     2  ing in the applicant's home, including any adult children of the  appli-
     3  cant,  and  whether  or not there are minors residing, full time or part
     4  time,  in the applicant's home; (ii) names and contact information of no
     5  less than four character references who can attest  to  the  applicant's
     6  good  moral  character  and  that  such applicant has not engaged in any
     7  acts, or made any statements that suggest they are likely to  engage  in
     8  conduct that would result in harm to themselves or others; (iii) certif-
     9  ication  of  completion of the training required in subdivision nineteen
    10  of this section; (iv) a list of former and current social media accounts
    11  of the applicant from the past three years to  confirm  the  information
    12  regarding  the  applicants character and conduct as required in subpara-
    13  graph (ii) of this paragraph; and (v) such other information required by
    14  the licensing officer that is reasonably necessary and  related  to  the
    15  review of the licensing application.
    16    §  2.  Subdivision 4 of section 400.00 of the penal law, as amended by
    17  chapter 371 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
    18    4. Investigation. Before a license is issued or renewed,  there  shall
    19  be an investigation of all statements required in the application by the
    20  duly  constituted police authorities of the locality where such applica-
    21  tion is made, including but not limited to such records as may be acces-
    22  sible to the division of state police or division  of  criminal  justice
    23  services  pursuant  to section 400.02 of this article. For that purpose,
    24  the records of the  appropriate  office  of  the  department  of  mental
    25  hygiene  concerning  previous or present mental illness of the applicant
    26  shall be available for inspection by the investigating  officer  of  the
    27  police  authority.  Where the applicant is domiciled in a foreign state,
    28  the investigation shall include inquiry of the foreign state for records
    29  concerning the previous or present mental illness of the applicant, and,
    30  to the extent necessary for inspection by the investigating officer, the
    31  applicant shall execute a waiver of confidentiality of  such  record  in
    32  such form as may be required by the foreign state. In order to ascertain
    33  any  previous  criminal record, the investigating officer shall take the
    34  fingerprints and physical descriptive  data  in  quadruplicate  of  each
    35  individual by whom the application is signed and verified. Two copies of
    36  such  fingerprints  shall  be  taken on standard fingerprint cards eight
    37  inches square, and one copy may be taken on a  card  supplied  for  that
    38  purpose  by the federal bureau of investigation; provided, however, that
    39  in the case of a corporate applicant that  has  already  been  issued  a
    40  dealer  in firearms license and seeks to operate a firearm dealership at
    41  a second or subsequent location, the original fingerprints on  file  may
    42  be  used  to  ascertain  any criminal record in the second or subsequent
    43  application unless any of the corporate officers have changed since  the
    44  prior  application, in which case the new corporate officer shall comply
    45  with procedures governing an initial application for such license.  When
    46  completed,  one  standard card shall be forwarded to and retained by the
    47  division of criminal justice services in the  executive  department,  at
    48  Albany.  A search of the files of such division and written notification
    49  of the results of the search shall be  forwarded  to  the  investigating
    50  officer  and  shall  be made without unnecessary delay. Thereafter, such
    51  division shall notify the licensing officer and  the  executive  depart-
    52  ment,  division  of  state police, Albany, of any criminal record of the
    53  applicant filed therein subsequent to the search of its files. A  second
    54  standard  card,  or  the  one supplied by the federal bureau of investi-
    55  gation, as the case may be, shall be forwarded to that bureau  at  Wash-
    56  ington  with  a  request  that  the  files of the bureau be searched and

        S. 4781                             4

     1  notification of the results of the search be made to  the  investigating
     2  police  authority, including the No Fly List maintained by the Terrorist
     3  Screening Center. Of the remaining two fingerprint cards, one  shall  be
     4  filed  with  the executive department, division of state police, Albany,
     5  within ten days after issuance of  the  license,  and  the  other  shall
     6  remain  on file with the investigating police authority. No such finger-
     7  prints may be inspected by any person other than a peace officer, who is
     8  acting pursuant to his or her  special  duties,  or  a  police  officer,
     9  except  on  order of a judge or justice of a court of record either upon
    10  notice to the licensee or without notice, as the judge  or  justice  may
    11  deem  appropriate.  Upon  completion  of  the  investigation, the police
    12  authority shall report the results  to  the  licensing  officer  without
    13  unnecessary delay.
    14    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.