NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A1428
SPONSOR: Aubry TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to restricting the sale of
certain lasers
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this legislation is to restrict the sale of laser which
could end up in the wrong hands and be used improperly.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Amends the penal law by adding a new section 240.80.
Section 2: Sets forth the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
This legislation provides a restriction on the sale or purchase of a
laser device with an output power of greater than 1 milliwatt. These
lasers are exceedingly powerful and can inflict a pilot with temporary
blindness when landing a plane, which can be catastrophic.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-2022:
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1428
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 17, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. AUBRY -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to restricting the sale of
certain lasers
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 240.80 to
2 read as follows:
3 § 240.80 Sale of a laser.
4 1. It shall be unlawful to distribute, sell or offer for sale a laser,
5 as defined by paragraph (a) of subdivision three of section 240.76 of
6 this article, which exceeds one milliwatt in output power.
7 2. This section shall not apply to lasers designed to be affixed to a
8 firearm or to lasers used by or under the supervision of a person
9 licensed under article one hundred thirty-one of the education law.
10 Sale of a laser is a class A misdemeanor.
11 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
12 have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05050-01-3
