S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
514
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
(PREFILED)
January 9, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ABINANTI -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee 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:
Section 1. 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
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
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04997-01-9
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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) WHO IS NOT NAMED ON THE NO FLY LIST
MAINTAINED BY THE TERRORIST SCREENING CENTER ADMINISTERED BY THE FEDERAL
BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION; AND (O) concerning whom no good cause exists
for the denial of the license. 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.
§ 2. Subdivision 4 of section 400.00 of the penal law, as amended by
chapter 1 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
4. Investigation. Before a license is issued or renewed, there shall
be an investigation of all statements required in the application by the
duly constituted police authorities of the locality where such applica-
tion is made, including but not limited to such records as may be acces-
sible to the division of state police or division of criminal justice
services pursuant to section 400.02 of this article. For that purpose,
the records of the appropriate office of the department of mental
hygiene concerning previous or present mental illness of the applicant
shall be available for inspection by the investigating officer of the
police authority. In order to ascertain any previous criminal record,
the investigating officer shall take the fingerprints and physical
descriptive data in quadruplicate of each individual by whom the appli-
cation is signed and verified. Two copies of such fingerprints shall be
taken on standard fingerprint cards eight inches square, and one copy
may be taken on a card supplied for that purpose by the federal bureau
of investigation; provided, however, that in the case of a corporate
applicant that has already been issued a dealer in firearms license and
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seeks to operate a firearm dealership at a second or subsequent
location, the original fingerprints on file may be used to ascertain any
criminal record in the second or subsequent application unless any of
the corporate officers have changed since the prior application, in
which case the new corporate officer shall comply with procedures
governing an initial application for such license. When completed, one
standard card shall be forwarded to and retained by the division of
criminal justice services in the executive department, at Albany. A
search of the files of such division and written notification of the
results of the search to the investigating officer shall be made without
unnecessary delay. Thereafter, such division shall notify the licensing
officer and the executive department, division of state police, Albany,
of any criminal record of the applicant filed therein subsequent to the
search of its files. A second standard card, or the one supplied by the
federal bureau of investigation, as the case may be, shall be forwarded
to that bureau at Washington with a request that the files of the
bureau, INCLUDING THE NO FLY LIST MAINTAINED BY THE TERRORIST SCREENING
CENTER, be searched and notification of the results of the search be
made to the investigating police authority. Of the remaining two finger-
print cards, one shall be filed with the executive department, division
of state police, Albany, within ten days after issuance of the license,
and the other remain on file with the investigating police authority. No
such fingerprints may be inspected by any person other than a peace
officer, who is acting pursuant to his special duties, or a police offi-
cer, except on order of a judge or justice of a court of record either
upon notice to the licensee or without notice, as the judge or justice
may deem appropriate. Upon completion of the investigation, the police
authority shall report the results to the licensing officer without
unnecessary delay.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.