Rpld §3380 sub 5, amd §§207 & 3380, Pub Health L; add Art 223 §§223.00 - 223.30, Pen L; Rpld 834, add Art
38-C §§840 - 846; Gen Bus L; amd §1192, V & T L §834, add Art 38-C §§840 - 846, Gen Bus L; amd §1192, V & T L
Enacts into law components of legislation relating to the possession and sale of nitrous oxide; criminalizes certain sales and possessions of nitrous oxide; (Part A); regulates the sale of nitrous oxide; (Part B); establishes an education and outreach program relating to nitrous oxide (Part C); criminalizes driving while ability impaired by nitrous oxide (Part D).
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9287
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
December 10, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. K. BROWN -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law and the penal law, in relation to
criminalizing certain sales and possessions of nitrous oxide; and to
repeal certain provisions of the public health law relating thereto
(Part A); to amend the general business law, in relation to regulating
the sale of nitrous oxide; and to repeal certain provisions of such
law relating thereto (Part B); to amend the public health law, in
relation to establishing an education and outreach program relating to
nitrous oxide (Part C); and to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in
relation to criminalizing driving while ability impaired by nitrous
oxide (Part D)
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act enacts into law components of legislation relating
2 to the possession and sale of nitrous oxide. Each component is wholly
3 contained within a Part identified as Parts A through D. The effective
4 date for each particular provision contained within such Part is set
5 forth in the last section of such Part. Any provision in any section
6 contained within a Part, including the effective date of the Part, which
7 makes reference to a section "of this act", when used in connection with
8 that particular component, shall be deemed to mean and refer to the
9 corresponding section of the Part in which it is found. Section three of
10 this act sets forth the general effective date of this act.
11 PART A
12 Section 1. Subdivision 5 of section 3380 of the public health law is
13 REPEALED.
14 § 2. Paragraph b of subdivision 6 of section 3380 of the public health
15 law, as amended by chapter 234 of the laws of 1985, is amended to read
16 as follows:
17 (b) Any person who violates any provision of subdivision four [or
18 five] of this section shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14062-01-5
A. 9287 2
1 § 3. The penal law is amended by adding a new article 223 to read as
2 follows:
3 ARTICLE 223
4 NITROUS OXIDE
5 Section 223.00 Nitrous oxide; definitions.
6 223.10 Criminal possession of nitrous oxide.
7 223.20 Criminal sale of nitrous oxide in the second degree.
8 223.30 Criminal sale of nitrous oxide in the first degree.
9 § 223.00 Nitrous oxide; definitions.
10 1. (a) "Acceptable use" means the possession and use of nitrous oxide:
11 i. by a manufacturer as part of a manufacturing process or industrial
12 operation by a person at least twenty-one years of age;
13 ii. by a health care professional for administration to a patient
14 under their care when acting within the professional's lawful scope of
15 practice under title eight of the education law;
16 iii. for automotive or rocketry purposes by a person at least twenty-
17 one years of age, provided the nitrous oxide in question is combined
18 with other fuels or chemicals designed to deter human consumption;
19 iv. by an individual at least eighteen years of age using nitrous
20 oxide as a propellant in food preparation in a food service establish-
21 ment or food service training program;
22 v. in an amount not to exceed one hundred grams of nitrous oxide total
23 by an individual at least twenty-one years of age for personal use in
24 food preparation;
25 vi. in a form and manner approved in regulation by the commissioner of
26 health or the commissioner of education.
27 (b) The presence of additional flavoring in or labeling on any part of
28 a nitrous oxide container referring to the substance therein being
29 flavored, except to note the presence of a chemical designed to deter
30 misuse, shall create a rebuttable presumption against the nitrous oxide
31 in question being for an acceptable use.
32 2. For the purposes of this article, the term "nitrous oxide" shall
33 not include nitrous oxide that has been premixed with a dairy product or
34 a dairy-like non-dairy product for the purposes of making a whipped
35 topping.
36 § 223.10 Criminal possession of nitrous oxide.
37 A person is guilty of criminal possession of nitrous oxide when they
38 knowingly possess or use nitrous oxide for any reason other than an
39 acceptable use.
40 Criminal possession of nitrous oxide is a class A misdemeanor.
41 § 223.20 Criminal sale of nitrous oxide in the second degree.
42 A person is guilty of criminal sale of nitrous oxide in the second
43 degree when they knowingly and unlawfully sell nitrous oxide to another
44 person and have reasonable cause to believe that the product sold or
45 offered for sale will be used for a purpose other than an acceptable
46 use.
47 Criminal sale of nitrous oxide is a class D felony.
48 § 223.30 Criminal sale of nitrous oxide in the first degree.
49 A person is guilty of criminal sale of nitrous oxide in the first
50 degree when, being over twenty-one years old, they knowingly and unlaw-
51 fully sell nitrous oxide to another person who they know or reasonably
52 should have known is under the age of twenty-one in violation of section
53 223.20 of this article.
54 Criminal sale of nitrous oxide is a class C felony.
55 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
A. 9287 3
1 PART B
2 Section 1. Section 834 of the general business law is REPEALED.
3 § 2. The general business law is amended by adding a new article 38-C
4 to read as follows:
5 ARTICLE 38-C
6 NITROUS OXIDE
7 Section 840. Definitions.
8 841. Minimum purchase age.
9 842. Restrictions on the retail sale of nitrous oxide; permit
10 required.
11 843. Restrictions on the retail sale of nitrous oxide; quantity
12 limits; point of sale requirements; stop sale system.
13 844. Possession and sale of nitrous oxide; other than acceptable
14 use.
15 845. Power of municipality to revoke license or permit.
16 846. Enforcement.
17 § 840. Definitions. For the purposes of this article, the following
18 terms shall have the following meanings:
19 1. "Acceptable use" shall have the same meaning as defined in section
20 223.00 of the penal law.
21 2. "Nitrous oxide" means nitrous oxide but shall not include nitrous
22 oxide that has been premixed with a dairy product or a dairy-like non-
23 dairy product for the purposes of making a whipped topping.
24 3. "Real-time stop sale system" means a system intended for use by law
25 enforcement agencies and retail establishments, that:
26 (a) is installed, operated, and maintained by an entity or entities
27 chosen by the department of state pursuant to a competitive bidding
28 process;
29 (b) complies with information security policies set by the state
30 police or the relevant regulatory authority;
31 (c) uses a mechanism to prevent completion of a sale of nitrous oxide
32 that would violate state limits; and
33 (d) is equipped with an override mechanism that an employee may acti-
34 vate if completion of a transaction is necessary to prevent imminent
35 bodily harm, with each use being recorded in the system.
36 4. "Retail sale" means a sale to a consumer or to any person for any
37 purpose other than for resale. For the purposes of the quantity limits
38 established in section eight hundred forty-three of this article, the
39 term "retail sale" shall not include sales of nitrous oxide to:
40 (a) the operator or agent of an operator of a food service establish-
41 ment that provides a business license or certificate of authority as
42 proof of their operation of said establishment;
43 (b) a manufacturer as part of a manufacturing process or industrial
44 operation by a person at least twenty-one years of age;
45 (c) a health care professional for administration to a patient under
46 their care when acting within the professional's lawful scope of prac-
47 tice under title eight of the education law; or
48 (d) a person at least twenty-one years of age for automotive or rock-
49 etry purposes, provided the nitrous oxide in question is combined with
50 other fuels or chemicals designed to deter human consumption.
51 § 841. Minimum purchase age. 1. No person, corporation, partnership,
52 limited liability company, firm, or any other business entity doing
53 business within this state shall sell or offer for sale nitrous oxide to
54 any person under the age of twenty-one.
A. 9287 4
1 2. Any person, corporation, partnership, limited liability company,
2 firm, or other business entity doing business within the state, includ-
3 ing persons and entities conducting transactions via the internet, that
4 sells, offers for sale or distributes nitrous oxide, including contract
5 or common carriers, shall require proof of legal age before allowing an
6 individual to purchase and/or take receipt of a shipment of nitrous
7 oxide.
8 3. Any person, corporation, partnership, limited liability company,
9 firm, or any other business entity that violates the provisions of this
10 section shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than two thou-
11 sand five hundred dollars for an initial offense and not more than five
12 thousand dollars for the second and each subsequent offense.
13 § 842. Restrictions on the retail sale of nitrous oxide; permit
14 required. 1. It shall be a violation of this section for any person,
15 corporation, partnership, limited liability company, firm, or other
16 business entity doing business within the state to possess with the
17 intent to sell or offer for sale at retail nitrous oxide without a
18 permit issued by the secretary pursuant to an application process devel-
19 oped by the department in regulation. Such application shall contain a
20 section requiring the prospective permittee to attest as to what accept-
21 able use or uses the nitrous oxide shall be sold for.
22 2. No permit for the retail sale of nitrous oxide shall be issued to
23 any person, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, firm,
24 or any other business entity to conduct business within two hundred
25 fifty feet of a school, public playground, library, or house of worship.
26 3. No permit for the retail sale of nitrous oxide shall be issued to
27 any entity whose place of business is a convenience store as defined in
28 section two hundred fourteen-h of the agriculture and markets law or the
29 premises of a retail dealer as defined in section thirteen hundred nine-
30 ty-nine-aa of the public health law.
31 4. No permit for the retail sale of nitrous oxide shall be issued to
32 any entity that intends to conduct sales of nitrous oxide on a mobile
33 basis.
34 5. Any person, corporation, partnership, limited liability company,
35 firm, or any other business entity that violates the provisions of this
36 section shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than five thou-
37 sand dollars for an initial offense and not more than ten thousand
38 dollars for the second and each subsequent offense.
39 § 843. Restrictions on the retail sale of nitrous oxide; quantity
40 limits; point of sale requirements; stop sale system. 1. Quantity
41 limits. No person, corporation, partnership, limited liability company,
42 firm, or other business entity doing business within the state shall
43 sell more than one hundred grams of nitrous oxide by net weight of gas,
44 irrespective of the number or size of containers, in any thirty-day
45 period.
46 2. Point of sale requirements. (a) All nitrous oxide products offered
47 for retail sale must be displayed behind a checkout counter or in a
48 locked case where the public is not permitted.
49 (b) Prior to sale, the retailer must require valid government-issued
50 photo identification.
51 (c) The retailer must record in an electronic or paper log:
52 (i) name and address of purchaser;
53 (ii) date and time of sale, type and number of ID presented;
54 (iii) quantity purchased; and
55 (iv) the purchaser's signature.
A. 9287 5
1 3. Stop sale system. Before completing a sale, the retailer must elec-
2 tronically submit required information to the real-time stop sale system
3 administered by the department of state.
4 (a) If the electronic system is unavailable, a paper log shall be kept
5 until full system functionality resumes. At the time that full function-
6 ality is restored, all transactions recorded during the outage shall be
7 entered into the electronic sales system within twenty-four hours.
8 (b) The system shall forward transaction records to the department of
9 state weekly and provide law enforcement with real-time access, as
10 authorized by such department.
11 (c) The system must generate a "stop sale alert" when a prospective
12 transaction would exceed legal limits.
13 (d) The sale shall not proceed if a stop sale alert is generated,
14 unless the override mechanism is used due to a reasonable fear of immi-
15 nent harm, with each override logged by the system.
16 4. Penalties. Any person, corporation, partnership, limited liability
17 company, firm, or any other business entity that violates the provisions
18 of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than
19 five hundred dollars for an initial offense and not more than one thou-
20 sand dollars for the second and each subsequent offense.
21 5. Liability limitations. (a) Retailers utilizing the system in good
22 faith shall not be civilly liable for acts or omissions in carrying out
23 their duties, unless acting with negligence or willful misconduct.
24 (b) Owners and operators of a retail establishment with a compliance
25 training program in place may be shielded from penalties if they estab-
26 lish that the violation was by an employee without their knowledge.
27 6. Preemption. This section preempts all local ordinances and regu-
28 lations governing the retail sale of nitrous oxide, with all such ordi-
29 nances enacted prior to the effective date rendered void.
30 § 844. Possession and sale of nitrous oxide; other than acceptable
31 use. 1. It shall be a violation of this section for any person, corpo-
32 ration, partnership, limited liability company, firm, or other business
33 entity doing business within the state to possess with intent to sell,
34 offer for sale, or purchase nitrous oxide under circumstances evincing
35 knowledge that the nitrous oxide is possessed, sold, or purchased for
36 any reason other than an acceptable use.
37 2. Any person, corporation, partnership, limited liability company,
38 firm, or any other business entity that violates the provisions of this
39 section shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than one thou-
40 sand dollars for an initial offense and not more than two thousand five
41 hundred dollars for the second and each subsequent offense.
42 § 845. Power of municipality to revoke license or permit. 1. A county,
43 town, city, or village that issues a license or permit authorizing any
44 person, firm, or corporation to engage in the selling or offering for
45 sale of any merchandise may revoke such license or permit upon a find-
46 ing, pursuant to a hearing held thereon, that such person, firm or
47 corporation has sold or offered for sale nitrous oxide in violation of
48 this article.
49 2. The possession with intent to sell or offer for sale of nitrous
50 oxide for other than an acceptable use is hereby declared to be a
51 nuisance. Where any such nitrous oxide shall be taken from the
52 possession of any person, the same shall be surrendered and forfeited to
53 the sheriff of the county wherein the same shall be taken, except that
54 in a city having a population of seventy-five thousand or more, the same
55 shall be surrendered and forfeited to the police commissioner or other
56 head of the police force or department of said city. Except that in the
A. 9287 6
1 counties of Nassau and Suffolk, the same shall be surrendered and
2 forfeited to the commissioner of such county's police department.
3 § 846. Enforcement. The attorney general or any state or local health
4 officer, town, village or city attorney, or the chief executive officer
5 of a municipality may institute an action in a court of competent juris-
6 diction to enjoin any activity prohibited pursuant to this article.
7 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
8 subdivisions 3, 4, 5, and 6 of section 843 of the general business law,
9 as added by section two of this act, shall take effect one year after
10 this act shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition,
11 amendment, and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the
12 implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be
13 made and completed on or before such date.
14 PART C
15 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 207 of the public health law is
16 amended by adding a new paragraph (t) to read as follows:
17 (t) The dangers associated with the misuse of nitrous oxide, includ-
18 ing, but not limited to, vitamin B-12 deficiency, impaired motor func-
19 tion, psychiatric disturbances, loss of consciousness, asphyxiation, and
20 death. The commissioner shall consult with the commissioner of the
21 office of addiction services and supports when developing education and
22 outreach programs under this provision.
23 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
24 PART D
25 Section 1. Section 1192 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended by
26 adding a new subdivision 4-b to read as follows:
27 4-b. Driving while ability impaired by nitrous oxide. (a) No person
28 shall operate a motor vehicle while the person's ability to operate such
29 a motor vehicle is impaired by the use of nitrous oxide, whether solely
30 or in combination with alcohol and/or another drug or drugs.
31 (b) For any prosecution under this subdivision, there shall be a
32 rebuttable presumption that this offense has been committed when a driv-
33 er appears to be impaired and: (i) the driver has open or empty nitrous
34 oxide containers in their possession; or (ii) the driver tests positive
35 for nitrous oxide on a test designated in regulation by the commissioner
36 of motor vehicles, in consultation with the commissioner of health, as
37 proof of intoxication.
38 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
39 § 2. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi-
40 sion, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of
41 competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect,
42 impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in
43 its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section
44 or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg-
45 ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of
46 the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if such
47 invalid provisions had not been included herein.
48 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately provided, however, that
49 the applicable effective dates of Parts A through D of this act shall be
50 as specifically set forth in the last section of such Parts.
