Senate Bill S6335

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S6335

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the penal law, in relation to the
possession of an unmanned aircraft containing a deadly weapon

 PURPOSE :

To make illegal the possession of an unmanned aircraft containing a
deadly weapon within the class C felony of criminal possession of a
weapon in the second degree.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 265.03 of the penal law is
amended by adding a new paragraph (d) to read as follows:

(d) possesses an unmanned aircraft containing a deadly weapon as
defined in subdivision twelve of section 10.00 of this chapter.

§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

 EXISTING LAW :

None

 JUSTIFICATION :
              

During 2015, police departments from Texas to Connecticut have
reported unmanned aircraft, commonly known as drones, armed with guns.
The number of drones being used by individuals for private purposes is
growing at a steady pace, and the retail prices of drones is actually
dropping. There is currently no collection of information regarding
drone ownership or operation. It is hard to determine how many drones
are currently in private use.  Since 2012, when private ownership and
use of unmanned aircraft was federally approved, E-bay alone has sold
more than half a million drones. It is likely that more than a million
drones are privately owned and operated across the country.

In October of this year, a man was arrested for flying a drone into
the state capitol in Albany. The potential threat of armed drones is
clearly increasing, and existing New York State Law fails to address
it.

The proposed legislation would include weaponized drones within the
existing statute identifying and regulating deadly weapons in the NYS
Penal Law.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

None

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

To be determined

 LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

To be determined

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.