S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
6279
I N S E N A T E
(PREFILED)
January 6, 2016
___________
Introduced by Sen. KLEIN -- 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 the provision
of licenses for firearms to persons on the federal no-fly list or
terrorist screening database; to amend the criminal procedure law, in
relation to revoking or suspending firearms licenses of persons on the
federal no-fly list or terrorist screening database; and to amend the
executive law, in relation to requiring the superintendent of state
police to search the federal no-fly list or terrorist screening data-
base and report findings to appropriate enforcement agencies
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Deny
Firearms to Dangerous Terrorists Act".
S 2. Subdivision 1 of section 400.00 of the penal law, as amended by
chapter 1 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
1. Eligibility. No license shall be issued or renewed pursuant to this
section except by the licensing officer, and then only after investi-
gation and finding that all statements in a proper application for a
license are true. No license shall be issued or renewed except for an
applicant (a) twenty-one years of age or older, provided, however, that
where such applicant has been honorably discharged from the United
States army, navy, marine corps, air force or coast guard, or the
national guard of the state of New York, no such age restriction shall
apply; (b) of good moral character; (c) who has not been convicted
anywhere of a felony or a serious offense; (d) who is not a fugitive
from justice; (e) who is not an unlawful user of or addicted to any
controlled substance as defined in section 21 U.S.C. 802; (f) who being
an alien (i) is not illegally or unlawfully in the United States or (ii)
has not been admitted to the United States under a nonimmigrant visa
subject to the exception in 18 U.S.C. 922(y)(2); (g) who has not been
discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions; (h) who,
having been a citizen of the United States, has not renounced his or her
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13346-01-5
S. 6279 2
citizenship; (i) who has stated whether he or she has ever suffered any
mental illness; (j) who has not been involuntarily committed to a facil-
ity under the jurisdiction of an office of the department of mental
hygiene pursuant to article nine or fifteen of the mental hygiene law,
article seven hundred thirty or section 330.20 of the criminal procedure
law, section four hundred two or five hundred eight of the correction
law, section 322.2 or 353.4 of the family court act, or has not been
civilly confined in a secure treatment facility pursuant to article ten
of the mental hygiene law; (k) who has not had a license revoked or who
is not under a suspension or ineligibility order issued pursuant to the
provisions of section 530.14 of the criminal procedure law or section
eight hundred forty-two-a of the family court act; (l) in the county of
Westchester, who has successfully completed a firearms safety course and
test as evidenced by a certificate of completion issued in his or her
name and endorsed and affirmed under the penalties of perjury by a duly
authorized instructor, except that: (i) persons who are honorably
discharged from the United States army, navy, marine corps or coast
guard, or of the national guard of the state of New York, and produce
evidence of official qualification in firearms during the term of
service are not required to have completed those hours of a firearms
safety course pertaining to the safe use, carrying, possession, mainte-
nance and storage of a firearm; and (ii) persons who were licensed to
possess a pistol or revolver prior to the effective date of this para-
graph are not required to have completed a firearms safety course and
test; (m) who has not had a guardian appointed for him or her pursuant
to any provision of state law, based on a determination that as a result
of marked subnormal intelligence, mental illness, incapacity, condition
or disease, he or she lacks the mental capacity to contract or manage
his or her own affairs; [and] (n) concerning whom no good cause exists
for the denial of the license; AND (O) WHO HAS NOT BEEN LISTED ON THE
FEDERAL NO-FLY LIST OR TERRORIST SCREENING DATABASE OPERATED BY THE
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION. No person shall engage in the business
of gunsmith or dealer in firearms unless licensed pursuant to this
section. An applicant to engage in such business shall also be a citizen
of the United States, more than twenty-one years of age and maintain a
place of business in the city or county where the license is issued. For
such business, if the applicant is a firm or partnership, each member
thereof shall comply with all of the requirements set forth in this
subdivision and if the applicant is a corporation, each officer thereof
shall so comply.
S 3. Section 530.14 of the criminal procedure law is amended by adding
a new subdivision 3-a to read as follows:
3-A. REVOCATION OR SUSPENSION OF LICENSE UPON A FINDING THAT THE HOLD-
ER OF THE FIREARM LICENSE IS A SUSPECTED TERRORIST. WHERE THE DIVISION
OF STATE POLICE FINDS THAT A HOLDER OF A FIREARM LICENSE IS LISTED ON
THE FEDERAL NO-FLY LIST OR TERRORIST SCREENING DATABASE OPERATED BY THE
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, THE DIVISION OF STATE POLICE SHALL
IMMEDIATELY REVOKE THE HOLDER'S LICENSE. THE INDIVIDUAL SHALL BE NOTI-
FIED IN WRITING WITHIN THIRTY DAYS OF THE REVOCATION.
S 4. Section 223 of the executive law is amended by adding a new
subdivision 3 to read as follows:
3. THE SUPERINTENDENT SHALL SEARCH THE FEDERAL NO-FLY LIST OR TERROR-
IST SCREENING DATABASE AT LEAST ONCE EACH YEAR AND UPON A FINDING THAT A
FIREARM LICENSE HOLDER IS ON SUCH A LIST, THE SUPERINTENDENT SHALL IMME-
DIATELY NOTIFY ALL APPROPRIATE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND SHALL DIRECT
THE STATE POLICE TO REMOVE ANY AND ALL SUCH FIREARMS UNTIL SUCH TIME
S. 6279 3
THAT THE INDIVIDUAL IS NO LONGER ON THE FEDERAL NO-FLY LIST OR TERRORIST
SCREENING DATABASE.
S 5. Section 223 of the executive law, as amended by chapter 843 of
the laws of 1980, is amended to read as follows:
S 223. Duties and powers of the superintendent of state police and of
members of the state police. 1. It shall be the duty of the superinten-
dent of the state police and of members of the state police to prevent
and detect crime and apprehend criminals. They shall also be subject to
the call of the governor and are empowered to co-operate with any other
department of the state or with local authorities. They shall have power
to arrest, without a warrant, any person committing or attempting to
commit within their presence or view a breach of the peace or other
violation of law, to serve and execute warrants of arrest or search
issued by proper authority and to exercise all other powers of police
officers of the state of New York. Any such warrants issued by any
magistrate of the state may be executed by them in any part of the state
according to the tenor thereof without [indorsement] ENDORSEMENT. But
they shall not exercise their powers within the limits of any city to
suppress rioting and disorder except by direction of the governor or
upon the request of the mayor of the city with the approval of the
governor. Any member of the rank of sergeant or above may take pre-arr-
aignment bail from any defendant in the amounts and under the circum-
stances and conditions that police may take bail.
2. THE SUPERINTENDENT SHALL SEARCH THE FEDERAL NO-FLY LIST OR TERROR-
IST SCREENING DATABASE AT LEAST ONCE EACH YEAR AND UPON A FINDING THAT A
FIREARM LICENSE HOLDER IS ON SUCH A LIST, THE SUPERINTENDENT SHALL IMME-
DIATELY NOTIFY ALL APPROPRIATE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND SHALL DIRECT
THE STATE POLICE TO REMOVE ANY AND ALL SUCH FIREARMS UNTIL SUCH TIME
THAT THE INDIVIDUAL IS NO LONGER ON THE FEDERAL NO-FLY LIST OR TERRORIST
SCREENING DATABASE.
S 6. The superintendent of state police and the commissioner of crimi-
nal justice services shall promulgate any regulations necessary for the
provisions of this act to take effect.
S 7. This act shall take effect immediately; provided however, the
provisions of this act shall not take effect until the superintendent of
state police receives approval to access the information on the federal
no-fly list or terrorist screening database from the relevant federal
agencies; provided further that the amendments to section 223 of the
executive law made by section four of this act shall be subject to the
expiration and reversion of such section pursuant to section 3 of chap-
ter 428 of the laws of 1999, as amended, when upon such date the
provisions of section five of this act shall take effect; provided that
the superintendent of state police shall notify the legislative bill
drafting commission upon the occurrence of the enactment of the legis-
lation provided for in this act in order that the commission may main-
tain an accurate and timely effective database of the official text of
the laws of the state of New York in furtherance of effectuating the
provisions of section 44 of the legislative law and section 70-b of the
public officers law.