Relates to gun buy back programs; requires entities operating such programs to check the serial number of all firearms obtained against the NYSPIN records and to obtain the express permission of the lawful owner of any firearm found to be stolen before the destruction thereof.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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11686
IN ASSEMBLY
September 2, 2026
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Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Hawley) --
read once and referred to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to gun buyback programs
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 400.05 of the penal law, as
2 amended by chapter 350 of the laws of 1986, is amended and a new subdi-
3 vision 7 is added to read as follows:
4 1. Any weapon, instrument, appliance or substance specified in article
5 two hundred sixty-five of this chapter, when unlawfully possessed, manu-
6 factured, transported or disposed of, or when utilized in the commission
7 of an offense, is hereby declared a nuisance. When the same shall come
8 into the possession of any police officer or peace officer, it shall be
9 surrendered immediately to the official mentioned in [paragraph] subpar-
10 agraph (f) of [subdivision] paragraph one of subdivision a of section
11 265.20 of this chapter, except that such weapon, instrument, appliance
12 or substance coming into the possession of the state police shall be
13 surrendered to the superintendent of state police.
14 7. (a) Any private or governmental entity operating a gun buyback
15 program shall:
16 (i) require that the serial number of every firearm obtained by such
17 gun buyback program is checked against the New York Statewide Police
18 Information Network (NYSPIN) records of stolen firearms and, if it is
19 found that any such firearm is a stolen firearm, that the firearm is not
20 destroyed without the express permission of the lawful owner thereof and
21 that if the lawful owner of the firearm does not give express permission
22 for the firearm to be destroyed, that the firearm is returned to its
23 lawful owner;
24 (ii) prior to returning a stolen firearm to a lawful owner, determine
25 whether or not the lawful owner is eligible to possess a firearm under
26 this chapter. If the lawful owner of the firearm is ineligible to
27 possess a firearm under this chapter, the entity operating the gun
28 buyback program may destroy the firearm in compliance with subdivision
29 two of this section.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02585-01-5
A. 11686 2
1 (b) For the purposes of this section, the term "gun buyback program"
2 shall mean any program in which firearms, machine-guns or ammunition are
3 purchased by or surrendered to the superintendent of the division of
4 state police or a member thereof designated by such superintendent, or
5 to a county sheriff, or in the county of Nassau or in the towns of Baby-
6 lon, Brookhaven, Huntington, Islip and Smithtown in the county of
7 Suffolk to the commissioner of police or a member of the police depart-
8 ment thereof designated by such commissioner, or to the police commis-
9 sioner or head of the police force or department of any city, town other
10 than one named in this paragraph, or village thereof or to a member of
11 the force or department designated by such commissioner or head.
12 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
13 ing the date on which it shall have become a law. Effective immediate-
14 ly, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation
15 necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are
16 authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
