STATE OF NEW YORK
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9389
IN SENATE
May 14, 2024
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Introduced by Sen. KAVANAGH -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and Families
AN ACT to amend the family court act, the penal law and the civil prac-
tice law and rules, in relation to allowing access to juvenile delin-
quency records for the purposes of a firearm background check and
authorizing the denial of a firearm license for an applicant who is
under the age of thirty and who as a juvenile was adjudicated delin-
quent for an offense which, if committed by an adult, would constitute
a felony or serious offense
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section 380.1 of the family court act, as
2 amended by chapter 37 of the laws of 2016, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 4. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, where a finding of
5 juvenile delinquency has been entered, upon request, the records
6 pertaining to such case shall be made available to the commissioner of
7 mental health or the commissioner [of] for people with developmental
8 disabilities, as appropriate; the case review panel; [and] the attorney
9 general pursuant to section 10.05 of the mental hygiene law; the
10 National Instant Criminal Background Check System in connection with a
11 background check conducted on a person under twenty-two years of age
12 pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 922(t)(1)(C) and 34 U.S.C. § 40901(1); the divi-
13 sion of state police in connection with a background check conducted on
14 a person under thirty years of age pursuant to section two hundred twen-
15 ty-eight of the executive law; a licensing officer pursuant to an inves-
16 tigation of an applicant who is under the age of thirty for a license to
17 be issued or renewed under subdivision one of section 400.00 of the
18 penal law; and a law enforcement agency directed by a court to conduct a
19 background investigation in a proceeding under section sixty-three
20 hundred forty-two of the civil practice law and rules regarding a
21 respondent in such proceeding who is under the age of thirty.
22 § 2. Section 381.2 of the family court act is amended by adding a new
23 subdivision 3 to read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14987-02-4
S. 9389 2
1 3. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one of this section,
2 a law enforcement agency directed by a court to conduct a background
3 investigation in a proceeding under section sixty-three hundred forty-
4 two of the civil practice law and rules regarding a respondent in such
5 proceeding who is under the age of thirty, may receive and consider the
6 records and information on file with the family court, unless such
7 records and information have been sealed pursuant to section 375.1 of
8 this article.
9 § 3. Subdivision 2 of section 381.3 of the family court act, as added
10 by chapter 920 of the laws of 1982 and paragraph (b) as amended by chap-
11 ter 926 of the laws of 1982, is amended to read as follows:
12 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one, the family court
13 in the county in which the petition was adjudicated may, upon motion and
14 for good cause shown, order such records open:
15 (a) to the respondent or [his] the respondent's parent or person
16 responsible for [his] the respondent's care; [or]
17 (b) if the respondent is subsequently convicted of a crime, to a judge
18 of the court in which [he] the respondent was convicted, unless such
19 record has been sealed pursuant to section 375.1; or
20 (c) to the division of state police in connection with a background
21 check conducted on a person under thirty years of age pursuant to
22 section two hundred twenty-eight of the executive law.
23 § 4. Subdivision 1 of section 400.00 of the penal law, as separately
24 amended by chapters 371 and 669 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read
25 as follows:
26 1. Eligibility. No license shall be issued or renewed pursuant to this
27 section except by the licensing officer, and then only after investi-
28 gation and finding that all statements in a proper application for a
29 license are true. No license shall be issued or renewed except for an
30 applicant (a) twenty-one years of age or older, provided, however, that
31 where such applicant has been honorably discharged from the United
32 States army, navy, marine corps, air force or coast guard, or the
33 national guard of the state of New York, no such age restriction shall
34 apply; (b) of good moral character, which, for the purposes of this
35 article, shall mean having the essential character, temperament and
36 [judgement] judgment necessary to be entrusted with a weapon and to use
37 it only in a manner that does not endanger oneself or others; (c) who
38 has not been convicted anywhere of a felony or a serious offense or who
39 is not the subject of an outstanding warrant of arrest issued upon the
40 alleged commission of a felony or serious offense; (d) who is not an
41 applicant who is under the age of thirty and who as a juvenile was adju-
42 dicated delinquent for an offense which, if committed by an adult, would
43 constitute a felony or serious offense; (e) who is not a fugitive from
44 justice; [(e)] (f) who is not an unlawful user of or addicted to any
45 controlled substance as defined in section 21 U.S.C. 802; [(f)] (g) who
46 being a noncitizen (i) is not illegally or unlawfully in the United
47 States or (ii) has not been admitted to the United States under a nonim-
48 migrant visa subject to the exception in 18 U.S.C. 922(y)(2); [(g)] (h)
49 who has not been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable
50 conditions; [(h)] (i) who, having been a citizen of the United States,
51 has not renounced [his or her] such applicant's citizenship; [(i)] (j)
52 who has stated whether [he or she] such applicant has ever suffered any
53 mental illness; [(j)] (k) who has not been involuntarily committed to a
54 facility under the jurisdiction of an office of the department of mental
55 hygiene pursuant to article nine or fifteen of the mental hygiene law,
56 article seven hundred thirty or section 330.20 of the criminal procedure
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1 law or substantially similar laws of any other state, section four
2 hundred two or five hundred eight of the correction law, section 322.2
3 or 353.4 of the family court act, has not been civilly confined in a
4 secure treatment facility pursuant to article ten of the mental hygiene
5 law, or has not been the subject of a report made pursuant to section
6 9.46 of the mental hygiene law; [(k)] (l) who has not had a license
7 revoked or who is not under a suspension or ineligibility order issued
8 pursuant to the provisions of section 530.14 of the criminal procedure
9 law or section eight hundred forty-two-a of the family court act; [(l)]
10 (m) in the county of Westchester, who has successfully completed a
11 firearms safety course and test as evidenced by a certificate of
12 completion issued in [his or her] such applicant's name and endorsed and
13 affirmed under the penalties of perjury by a duly authorized instructor,
14 except that: (i) persons who are honorably discharged from the United
15 States army, navy, marine corps or coast guard, or of the national guard
16 of the state of New York, and produce evidence of official qualification
17 in firearms during the term of service are not required to have
18 completed those hours of a firearms safety course pertaining to the safe
19 use, carrying, possession, maintenance and storage of a firearm; (ii)
20 persons who were licensed to possess a pistol or revolver prior to the
21 effective date of this paragraph are not required to have completed a
22 firearms safety course and test, provided, however, persons with a
23 license issued under paragraph (f) of subdivision two of this section
24 prior to the effective date of chapter three hundred seventy-one of the
25 laws of two thousand twenty-two [which amended this paragraph] shall be
26 required to complete the training required by subdivision nineteen of
27 this section prior to the recertification of such license; and (iii)
28 persons applying for a license under paragraph (f) of subdivision two of
29 this section on or after the effective date of [the] chapter [of] three
30 hundred seventy-one of the laws of two thousand twenty-two [which
31 amended this paragraph] who shall be required to complete the training
32 required under subdivision nineteen of this section for such license;
33 [(m)] (n) who has not had a guardian appointed for [him or her] such
34 applicant pursuant to any provision of state law, based on a determi-
35 nation that as a result of marked subnormal intelligence, mental
36 illness, incompetency, incapacity, condition or disease, [he or she]
37 such applicant lacks the mental capacity to contract or manage [his or
38 her] such applicant's own affairs; [(n)] (o) for a license issued under
39 paragraph (f) of subdivision two of this section, that the applicant has
40 not been convicted within five years of the date of the application of
41 any of the following: (i) assault in the third degree, as defined in
42 section 120.00 of this chapter; (ii) misdemeanor driving while intoxi-
43 cated, as defined in section eleven hundred ninety-two of the vehicle
44 and traffic law; or (iii) menacing, as defined in section 120.15 of this
45 chapter; and [(o)] (p) for a license issued under paragraph (f) of
46 subdivision two of this section, the applicant shall meet in person with
47 the licensing officer for an interview and shall, in addition to any
48 other information or forms required by the license application submit to
49 the licensing officer the following information: (i) names and contact
50 information for the applicant's current spouse, or domestic partner, any
51 other adults residing in the applicant's home, including any adult chil-
52 dren of the applicant, and whether or not there are minors residing,
53 full time or part time, in the applicant's home; (ii) names and contact
54 information of no less than four character references who can attest to
55 the applicant's good moral character and that such applicant has not
56 engaged in any acts, or made any statements that suggest they are likely
S. 9389 4
1 to engage in conduct that would result in harm to themselves or others;
2 (iii) certification of completion of the training required in subdivi-
3 sion nineteen of this section; (iv) a list of former and current social
4 media accounts of the applicant from the past three years to confirm the
5 information regarding the [applicants] applicant's character and conduct
6 as required in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph; and (v) such other
7 information required by the licensing officer that is reasonably neces-
8 sary and related to the review of the licensing application.
9 § 5. Subdivision 9 of section 6342 of the civil practice law and
10 rules, as added by chapter 19 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as
11 follows:
12 9. (a) Upon issuance of a temporary extreme risk protection order, or
13 upon setting a hearing for a final extreme risk protection order where a
14 temporary order is denied or not requested, the court shall direct the
15 law enforcement agency having jurisdiction to conduct a background
16 investigation and report to the court and, subject to any appropriate
17 redactions to protect any person, each party regarding whether the
18 respondent:
19 [(a)] (i) has any prior criminal conviction for an offense involving
20 domestic violence, use of a weapon, or other violence;
21 [(b)] (ii) has any criminal charge or violation currently pending
22 against [him or her] the respondent;
23 [(c)] (iii) is currently on parole or probation;
24 [(d)] (iv) possesses any registered firearms, rifles or shotguns; and
25 [(e)] (v) has been, or is, subject to any order of protection or has
26 violated or allegedly violated any order of protection.
27 (b) If the respondent is under the age of thirty, investigation
28 required by paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall also report to the
29 court and subject to any appropriate redactions to protect any person,
30 each party regarding whether the respondent:
31 (i) as a juvenile was adjudicated delinquent for an offense which, if
32 committed by an adult, would constitute an offense involving domestic
33 violence, use of a weapon, or other violence; and
34 (ii) has any juvenile delinquency proceeding currently pending against
35 such respondent.
36 § 6. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
37 have become a law.