NY State Senate Bill 2023-S5443

Senate Bill S5443

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Relates to the exchange or transfer of firearms, rifles and shotguns pursuant to a decedent's will and/or probate order

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Consumer Protection Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2024	referred to consumer protection
Mar 06, 2023	referred to consumer protection

2023-S5443 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Consumer Protection
Law Section:: General Business Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §898, Gen Bus L; amd §265.00, Pen L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2019-2020: S5961
2021-2022: S5872

2023-S5443 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Authorizes the exchange or transfer of firearms, rifles and shotguns pursuant to a decedent's will and/or probate order; prohibits transfers of large capacity ammunition feeding devices.

2023-S5443 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S5443

SPONSOR: SCARCELLA-SPANTON
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the general business law and the penal law, in relation
to the exchange or transfer of firearms, rifles and shotguns pursuant to
a decedent's will and/or probate order

 
PURPOSE:

To allow the lawful exchange or transfer of firearms to qualified indi-
viduals who are designated beneficiaries pursuant to will and/or probate
order.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

§ 1, expands the definition of person's qualified to take receipt and
possession of firearms pursuant to a will and/or probate order. This new
provision will allow any individual designated as a beneficiary by a
valid will and/or probate order and is qualified to possess a firearm
under the act as provided under Section 1, Subdivision 1 of section 898

of the general business law, as added by chapter 1 of the laws of 2013.

§ 2, allows for the permissible sale, exchange or disposal of any weapon
defined in paragraph (e) or (f) of paragraph (h) of subdivision 22 of
section 265.00 of the penal law, as added by chapter 1 of the laws of
2013, to an individual that was previously qualified to legally possess
the weapon including the transferor's immediate family, who resides
within or without the state of New York and shall include transfers made
pursuant to a decedent's will and/or probate order.

 
EXISTING LAW:

General business law, Section 1, Subdivision 1 and penal law allows for
the transfer or exchange of firearms to "immediate family" members or
those persons holding federal firearms licenses. Penal law section
265.00, para. (h) Of subdivision 22, allows for the sale, transfer or
disposal of weapons to qualified individuals or entities outside of the
state.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

This act expands the definition of those individuals allowed to trans-
fer, sell or dispose of firearms to not only immediate family members,
but also individuals qualified to possess firearms pursuant to New York
law if they are identified as beneficiaries pursuant to will and/or
probate order. This limited expansion of the definition of qualified
individuals will allow for the expeditious transfer of estate property
that is firearms to qualified individuals pursuant to the testamentary
wishes of decedents.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2019 Session - New bill S.5961 - Passed Senate

2022 Session - Passed  Senate

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately

2023-S5443 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5443
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               March 6, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. SCARCELLA-SPANTON -- read twice and ordered printed,
   and when  printed  to  be  committed  to  the  Committee  on  Consumer
   Protection
 
 AN  ACT to amend the general business law and the penal law, in relation
   to the exchange or transfer of firearms, rifles and shotguns  pursuant
   to a decedent's will and/or probate order

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 898 of the general  business  law,
 as  amended  by  chapter  129 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as
 follows:
   1. In addition to any other requirements pursuant to state and federal
 law, all sales, exchanges or disposals of firearms, rifles  or  shotguns
 shall  be  conducted  in  accordance with this section unless such sale,
 exchange or disposal is  conducted  by  a  licensed  importer,  licensed
 manufacturer  or licensed dealer, as those terms are defined in 18 USC §
 922, when such sale, exchange or disposal is conducted pursuant to  that
 person's  federal firearms license or such sale, exchange or disposal is
 between members of an immediate family OR SUCH EXCHANGE OR  TRANSFER  IS
 PURSUANT  TO  A  DECEDENT'S  WILL  AND/OR  PROBATE ORDER, DIRECTING SUCH
 EXCHANGE OR TRANSFER TO A PERSON WHO QUALIFIES UNDER THIS SECTION.  When
 a sale, exchange or disposal is conducted pursuant to a person's federal
 firearms license, before delivering a firearm, rifle or shotgun  to  any
 person, either (a) the National Instant Criminal Background Check System
 (NICS)  or  its successor has issued a "proceed" response to the federal
 firearms licensee, or (b) thirty calendar days shall have elapsed  since
 the  date  the  federal  firearms  licensee contacted NICS to initiate a
 national instant criminal background check and NICS has not notified the
 federal firearms licensee that the transfer of  the  firearm,  rifle  or
 shotgun  to  such person should be denied. For purposes of this section,

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD08587-01-3
 S. 5443                             2

 
 "immediate family" shall mean spouses, domestic partners,  children  and
 step-children.
   §  2.  Paragraph  (h) of subdivision 22 of section 265.00 of the penal
 law, as amended by chapter 209 of the laws of 2022, is amended  to  read
 as follows:
   (h) Any weapon defined in paragraph (e) or (f) of this subdivision may
 only be sold to, exchanged with or disposed of to a purchaser authorized
 to  possess  such  weapons  or to an individual or entity outside of the
 state provided that any such transfer to an individual or entity outside
 of the state must be reported to the entity wherein the weapon is regis-
 tered within seventy-two hours of such transfer.  SUCH PERMISSIBLE SALE,
 EXCHANGE OR DISPOSAL OF ANY WEAPON DEFINED IN PARAGRAPH (E)  OR  (F)  OF
 THIS  SUBDIVISION  THAT  WAS LEGALLY POSSESSED BY AN INDIVIDUAL PRIOR TO
 THE ENACTMENT OF CHAPTER ONE OF THE LAWS OF TWO THOUSAND THIRTEEN  WHICH
 ADDED  THIS  PARAGRAPH  SHALL  ALSO INCLUDE A MEMBER OF THE TRANSFEROR'S
 IMMEDIATE FAMILY, WHO RESIDES EITHER WITHIN OR OUTSIDE THE STATE OF  NEW
 YORK,  AND  SHALL  INCLUDE  TRANSFERS MADE PURSUANT TO A DECEDENT'S WILL
 AND/OR PROBATE ORDER, DIRECTING SUCH EXCHANGE OR TRANSFER  TO  A  PERSON
 WHO  QUALIFIES UNDER THIS SECTION, WHETHER THAT PERSON RESIDES INSIDE OR
 OUTSIDE THE STATE OF  NEW  YORK.  SUCH  PERMISSIBLE  SALE,  EXCHANGE  OR
 DISPOSAL  OF ANY WEAPON DEFINED IN PARAGRAPH (E) OR (F) OF THIS SUBDIVI-
 SION, TO AN IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER AS DEFINED IN SECTION EIGHT  HUNDRED
 NINETY-EIGHT OF THE GENERAL BUSINESS LAW, AND SUCH PERMISSIBLE TRANSFERS
 MADE  PURSUANT TO A DECEDENT'S WILL AND/OR PROBATE ORDER, DIRECTING SUCH
 EXCHANGE OR TRANSFER TO A PERSON WHO QUALIFIES UNDER THIS SECTION, SHALL
 NOT INCLUDE TRANSFERS OF LARGE CAPACITY AMMUNITION  FEEDING  DEVICES  AS
 THE EXPRESSION, 'LARGE CAPACITY AMMUNITION FEEDING DEVICE' IS DEFINED IN
 SUBDIVISION  TWENTY-THREE  OF  THIS SECTION. An individual who transfers
 any such weapon to an  individual  inside  New  York  state  or  without
 complying  with  the  provisions  of this paragraph shall be guilty of a
 class A misdemeanor.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

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