NY State Senate Bill 2025-S1523

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes 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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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 10, 2025	referred to codes

co-Sponsors

2025-S1523 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Penal Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§265.04, 265.09, 265.13 & 155.42, rpld §155.30 sub 7, §155.42, Pen L
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: S3420

2025-S1523 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to criminal penalties for possession, theft, or sale of stolen firearms, shotguns and rifles; makes technical corrections to section 155.42 of the penal law.

2025-S1523 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S1523

SPONSOR: O'MARA
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the penal law, in relation to stolen firearms, shotguns
and rifles; and to repeal certain provisions of such law relating there-
to, and relating to making technical corrections thereto

 
PURPOSE:

To enhance penalties for offenders who commit crimes using stolen
firearms.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 adds possession of a stolen firearm, rifle or shotgun to Crim-
inal Possession of a Weapon in the First Degree, PL § 265.04.

Section 2 adds conduct constituting the use of stolen firearm, rifle or
shotgun during the commission of a felony offense defined in article
120, 125, 130, 135, 140, 155, or 160 of the penal law to Criminal Use of

a Firearm in the First Degree, PL § 265.09.

Section 3 adds the unlawful sale of a stolen firearm, rifle or shotgun
to Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the First Degree, PL § 265.13.

Section 4 repeals subdivision 7 of section

Section 5 adds the theft of one or more firearms, rifles to Grand Larce-
ny in the First Degree, PL § 155.42.

Section 6 is the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

While New York has some of the strictest and most restrictive gun laws
in the country, the impact of those laws fall primarily on law-abiding
citizens who face significant barriers to lawful gun ownership. These
laws have not prevented criminals from circumventing these laws by turn-
ing to the black market to obtain illegal, and often stolen, firearms.
As criminals continue to rely on stolen firearms to commit crimes, we
must ensure that our laws carry significant penalties for those commit-
ting such crimes. This bill addresses this issue by classifying certain
crimes related to the possession, use, and sale of stolen firearms as
class B violent felonies, which carry mandatory prison sentences of up
to twenty-five years. The bill also enhances the penalties for the theft
of firearms to further deter firearm theft.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2023: S3420

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the state.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2025-S1523 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1523
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 10, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  O'MARA,  BORRELLO,  OBERACKER  --  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 stolen firearms, shotguns
   and rifles; and to repeal certain  provisions  of  such  law  relating
   thereto, and relating to making technical corrections thereto
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 265.04 of the penal law, as amended by chapter  764
 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows:
 § 265.04 Criminal possession of a weapon in the first degree.
   A  person  is  guilty  of criminal possession of a weapon in the first
 degree when such person:
   (1) possesses any explosive substance with  intent  to  use  the  same
 unlawfully against the person or property of another; [or]
   (2) possesses ten or more firearms[.]; OR
   (3) KNOWINGLY POSSESSES A FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN THAT WAS STOLEN.
   Criminal possession of a weapon in the first degree is a class B felo-
 ny.
   §  2.  Subdivision 1 of section 265.09 of the penal law, as amended by
 chapter 650 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read as follows:
   (1) A person is guilty of criminal use  of  a  firearm  in  the  first
 degree when [he] SUCH PERSON:
   (A) commits any class B violent felony offense as defined in paragraph
 (a) of subdivision one of section 70.02 and [he] SUCH PERSON either:
   [(a)](I)  possesses  a deadly weapon, if the weapon is a loaded weapon
 from which a shot, readily capable of producing death or  other  serious
 injury may be discharged; or
   [(b)](II) displays what appears to be a pistol, revolver, rifle, shot-
 gun, machine gun or other firearm[.]; OR

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD04445-01-5
 S. 1523                             2

 
   (B)  COMMITS ANY FELONY OFFENSE DEFINED IN ARTICLE 120, 125, 130, 135,
 140, 155, OR 160 OF THIS CHAPTER WHILE KNOWINGLY POSSESSING  A  FIREARM,
 RIFLE OR SHOTGUN THAT IS STOLEN.
   Criminal use of a firearm in the first degree is a class B felony.
   §  3.  Section  265.13  of  the  penal law, as amended by section 1 of
 subpart A of part UU of chapter 56 of the laws of 2022,  is  amended  to
 read as follows:
 § 265.13 Criminal sale of a firearm in the first degree.
   A  person  is guilty of criminal sale of a firearm in the first degree
 when such person:
   (1) unlawfully sells, exchanges, gives or disposes of to  another  ten
 or more firearms; [or]
   (2)  unlawfully  sells,  exchanges,  gives  or  disposes of to another
 person or persons a total of three or more firearms in a period  of  not
 more than one year; OR
   (3) UNLAWFULLY SELLS, EXCHANGES, GIVES OR DISPOSES OF TO ANOTHER INDI-
 VIDUAL OR INDIVIDUALS A FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN THAT SUCH PERSON KNOWS
 TO BE STOLEN.
   Criminal sale of a firearm in the first degree is a class B felony.
   § 4. Subdivision 7 of section 155.30 of the penal law is REPEALED.
   §  5. Section 155.42 of the penal law, as amended by section 4 of part
 FF of chapter 55 of the laws of 2024, is REPEALED.
   § 6. Section 155.42 of the penal law, as amended by section 7 of  part
 O of chapter 56 of the laws of 2024, is amended to read as follows:
 § 155.42 Grand larceny in the first degree.
   A person is guilty of grand larceny in the first degree when:
   1.  such  person  steals  property  and when the value of the property
 exceeds one million dollars; [or]
   2. such person commits deed theft, regardless of  the  value,  of  (a)
 residential  real  property  that  is occupied as a home by at least one
 person; or (b) residential real property that involves a  home  that  is
 owned  by an elderly person, an incompetent, an incapacitated person, or
 physically disabled person; or (c) three or more residential real  prop-
 erties[.];
   3.  SUCH  PERSON  STEALS  PROPERTY AND THE PROPERTY CONSISTS OF RETAIL
 GOODS OR MERCHANDISE STOLEN PURSUANT TO A COMMON SCHEME  OR  PLAN  OR  A
 SINGLE,  ONGOING  INTENT TO DEPRIVE ANOTHER OR OTHERS OF THE PROPERTY OR
 TO APPROPRIATE THE PROPERTY TO THE ACTOR OR ANOTHER PERSON AND THE VALUE
 OF THE PROPERTY EXCEEDS ONE MILLION DOLLARS, WHICH VALUE MAY  BE  DETER-
 MINED  BY THE AGGREGATE VALUE OF ALL SUCH PROPERTY REGARDLESS OF WHETHER
 THE GOODS OR MERCHANDISE WERE STOLEN FROM THE  SAME  OWNER.  NOTHING  IN
 THIS  SUBDIVISION  SHALL  BE  READ TO LIMIT THE ABILITY TO AGGREGATE THE
 VALUE OF ANY PROPERTY OR THE ABILITY TO CHARGE  THE  LARCENY  OF  RETAIL
 GOODS OR MERCHANDISE UNDER ANOTHER APPLICABLE PROVISION OF LAW; OR
   4.  SUCH  PERSON STEALS PROPERTY AND WHEN THE PROPERTY CONSISTS OF ONE
 OR MORE FIREARMS, RIFLES OR SHOTGUNS,  AS  SUCH  TERMS  ARE  DEFINED  BY
 SECTION 265.00 OF THIS CHAPTER.
   Grand larceny in the first degree is a class B felony.
   § 7. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
 ing the date upon which it shall have become a law.

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Thomas_Gannon

9 months ago

Possesses 10 or more firearms? Why? What tragedy will this prevent? This seems to be, in my view, nothing more that legislating for its own sake.

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Senate Bill S1523

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

Actions

co-Sponsors

2025-S1523 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S1523 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S1523 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S1523 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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Sponsored By

Thomas F. O'Mara

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

Actions

co-Sponsors

George M. Borrello

Peter Oberacker

2025-S1523 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S1523 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S1523 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S1523 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments