Prohibits the release of personal medical records or information without a warrant or express written authorization of the individual; prohibits the condition of the consent of release for an application.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2649
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 27, 2015
___________
Introduced by Sens. RANZENHOFER, DeFRANCISCO -- 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 prohibiting the release of
personal medical records or information without a warrant or express
written authorization of the individual
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section 400.00 of the penal law, as
2 amended by chapter 1 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
3 4. Investigation. Before a license is issued or renewed, there shall
4 be an investigation of all statements required in the application by the
5 duly constituted police authorities of the locality where such applica-
6 tion is made, including but not limited to such records as may be acces-
7 sible to the division of state police or division of criminal justice
8 services pursuant to section 400.02 of this article. For that purpose,
9 the records of the appropriate office of the department of mental
10 hygiene concerning previous or present mental illness of the applicant
11 shall be available for inspection by the investigating officer of the
12 police authority. In order to ascertain any previous criminal record,
13 the investigating officer shall take the fingerprints and physical
14 descriptive data in quadruplicate of each individual by whom the appli-
15 cation is signed and verified. Two copies of such fingerprints shall be
16 taken on standard fingerprint cards eight inches square, and one copy
17 may be taken on a card supplied for that purpose by the federal bureau
18 of investigation; provided, however, that in the case of a corporate
19 applicant that has already been issued a dealer in firearms license and
20 seeks to operate a firearm dealership at a second or subsequent
21 location, the original fingerprints on file may be used to ascertain any
22 criminal record in the second or subsequent application unless any of
23 the corporate officers have changed since the prior application, in
24 which case the new corporate officer shall comply with procedures
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02102-01-5
S. 2649 2
1 governing an initial application for such license. When completed, one
2 standard card shall be forwarded to and retained by the division of
3 criminal justice services in the executive department, at Albany. A
4 search of the files of such division and written notification of the
5 results of the search to the investigating officer shall be made without
6 unnecessary delay. Thereafter, such division shall notify the licensing
7 officer and the executive department, division of state police, Albany,
8 of any criminal record of the applicant filed therein subsequent to the
9 search of its files. A second standard card, or the one supplied by the
10 federal bureau of investigation, as the case may be, shall be forwarded
11 to that bureau at Washington with a request that the files of the bureau
12 be searched and notification of the results of the search be made to the
13 investigating police authority. Of the remaining two fingerprint cards,
14 one shall be filed with the executive department, division of state
15 police, Albany, within ten days after issuance of the license, and the
16 other remain on file with the investigating police authority. No such
17 fingerprints may be inspected by any person other than a peace officer,
18 who is acting pursuant to his special duties, or a police officer,
19 except on order of a judge or justice of a court of record either upon
20 notice to the licensee or without notice, as the judge or justice may
21 deem appropriate. Upon completion of the investigation, the police
22 authority shall report the results to the licensing officer without
23 unnecessary delay. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
24 contrary neither the state police, the division of criminal justice
25 services, nor any other law enforcement agency or employee thereof shall
26 be permitted to access personal medical records and other medical infor-
27 mation other than records required to be provided by the department of
28 mental hygiene without a properly issued warrant, or the express writ-
29 ten, notarized permission of the individual whose information is sought.
30 § 2. Section 400.02 of the penal law, as added by chapter 1 of the
31 laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
32 § 400.02 Statewide license and record database.
33 1. There shall be a statewide license and record database which shall
34 be created and maintained by the division of state police the cost of
35 which shall not be borne by any municipality. Records assembled or
36 collected for purposes of inclusion in such database shall not be
37 subject to disclosure pursuant to article six of the public officers
38 law. Records containing granted license applications shall be period-
39 ically checked by the division of criminal justice services against
40 criminal conviction, mental health, and all other records as are neces-
41 sary to determine their continued accuracy as well as whether an indi-
42 vidual is no longer a valid license holder. The division of criminal
43 justice services shall also check pending applications made pursuant to
44 this article against such records to determine whether a license may be
45 granted. All state agencies shall cooperate with the division of crimi-
46 nal justice services, as otherwise authorized by law, in making their
47 records available for such checks. The division of criminal justice
48 services, upon determining that an individual is ineligible to possess a
49 license, or is no longer a valid license holder, shall notify the appli-
50 cable licensing official of such determination and such licensing offi-
51 cial shall not issue a license or revoke such license and any weapons
52 owned or possessed by such individual shall be removed consistent with
53 the provisions of subdivision eleven of section 400.00 of this article.
54 Local and state law enforcement shall have access to such database, as
55 otherwise authorized by law, in the performance of their duties. Records
S. 2649 3
1 assembled or collected for purposes of inclusion in the database estab-
2 lished by this section shall be released pursuant to a court order.
3 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary neither
4 the state police, the division of criminal justice services, nor any
5 other law enforcement agency or employee thereof shall be permitted to
6 access personal medical records and other medical information other than
7 records required to be provided by the department of mental hygiene
8 without a properly issued warrant, or the express written, notarized
9 permission of the individual whose information is sought.
10 § 3. Subdivision 3 of section 400.00 of the penal law is amended by
11 adding a new paragraph (c) to read as follows:
12 (c) (i) The application for a license to carry, possess, repair or
13 dispose of firearms, or the renewal thereof, pursuant to this section
14 shall not require the applicant to consent to the release of their
15 personal medical records and other medical information, other than
16 records required to be provided by the department of mental hygiene, as
17 a condition of receiving or retaining such license unless the investi-
18 gating agency has a reasonable belief that a medical issue exists which
19 would justify the denial of a license pursuant to this section.
20 (ii) The state police, the division of criminal justice services, and
21 any other law enforcement agency or employee thereof may request a
22 consent from individuals for the release of their personal medical
23 records or other medical information where such law enforcement agency
24 has a reasonable belief that a medical issue exists which would justify
25 the suspension or revocation of a license issued pursuant to this
26 section.
27 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
