Creates a process for the issuance of a temporary permit to carry or possess a firearm for persons who are not residents of the state of New York; provides an affirmative defense to possession of a loaded firearm by certain persons and provides reciprocity for persons licensed in other states.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
859
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 11, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. KOLB, PALMESANO, HAWLEY, BRABENEC, BLANKENBUSH,
STEC, FRIEND -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to possession of a pistol or
revolver
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph 3 of subdivision a of section 265.20 of the penal
2 law, as amended by chapter 1 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 3. Possession of a pistol or revolver by a person to whom a license or
5 temporary license therefor has been issued as provided under section
6 400.00 [or], 400.01 or 400.04 of this chapter or possession of a weapon
7 as defined in paragraph (e) or (f) of subdivision twenty-two of section
8 265.00 of this article which is registered pursuant to paragraph (a) of
9 subdivision sixteen-a of section 400.00 of this chapter or is included
10 on an amended license issued pursuant to section 400.00 of this chapter.
11 In the event such license is revoked, other than because such licensee
12 is no longer permitted to possess a firearm, rifle or shotgun under
13 federal or state law, information sufficient to satisfy the requirements
14 of subdivision sixteen-a of section 400.00 of this chapter, shall be
15 transmitted by the licensing officer to the state police, in a form as
16 determined by the superintendent of state police. Such transmission
17 shall constitute a valid registration under such section. Further
18 provided, notwithstanding any other section of this title, a failure to
19 register such weapon by an individual who possesses such weapon before
20 the enactment of [the] chapter one of the laws of two thousand thirteen
21 [which amended this paragraph] and may so lawfully possess it thereafter
22 upon registration, shall only be subject to punishment pursuant to para-
23 graph (c) of subdivision sixteen-a of section 400.00 of this chapter;
24 provided, that such a license or registration shall not preclude a
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04090-01-9
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1 conviction for the offense defined in subdivision three of section
2 265.01 of this article or section 265.01-a of this article.
3 § 2. Section 265.20 of the penal law is amended by adding a new subdi-
4 vision f to read as follows:
5 f. 1. A nonresident of New York state who is not prohibited by federal
6 law from possessing a firearm may possess and carry a concealed firearm,
7 as defined in subdivision three of section 265.00 of this article,
8 anywhere within New York state if such person:
9 (a) is in possession of a valid permit to carry a concealed firearm
10 issued to such nonresident of New York state pursuant to the laws of
11 such person's state of residence; and
12 (b) is in compliance with the terms of its issuance in the state of
13 its issue, but only to the extent that the terms of issuance comply with
14 any appropriate New York state statute; and
15 (c) is carrying a valid identification document containing a photo-
16 graph of the person; and
17 (d) does not have any intent to use such firearm for an illegal
18 purpose; and
19 (e) is subject to the same conditions and limitations, except as to
20 eligibility to possess or carry, imposed by or under federal or state
21 law or the law of a political subdivision of New York state, that apply
22 to the possession or carrying of a concealed firearm by residents of the
23 state or political subdivision who are licensed by the state or poli-
24 tical subdivision to do so, or not prohibited by the state from doing
25 so.
26 2. If a nonresident, who is authorized to possess or carry a concealed
27 firearm pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision, becomes a legal
28 resident of New York state, then the provisions of this subdivision
29 shall continue to apply to such person until such time as a New York
30 state license is issued or denied under article four hundred of this
31 chapter; provided that such person shall have sixty days to file an
32 application therefor after becoming a resident of this state.
33 3. The possession of a valid license from another jurisdiction shall
34 be a rebuttable presumption that the holder is not prohibited by federal
35 law from possessing a firearm and is in compliance with the terms of
36 issuance in the state of issuance.
37 4. As used in this subdivision the term "identification document"
38 means a document made or issued by or under the authority of the United
39 States Government, a state or a political subdivision of a state which,
40 when completed with information concerning a particular individual, is
41 of a type intended or commonly accepted for the purpose of identifica-
42 tion of individuals.
43 § 3. Section 400.00 of the penal law is amended by adding a new subdi-
44 vision 2-a to read as follows:
45 2-a. Temporary license. A temporary license for a pistol or revolver,
46 other than an assault weapon or a disguised gun shall be issued to:
47 (a) a householder to have and possess in his dwelling where such
48 householder is eligible pursuant to section 400.04 of this article; or
49 (b) have and carry, without regard to place of possession, by any
50 person where such person is eligible pursuant to subdivision one of
51 section 400.04 of this article.
52 § 4. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 400.04 to read
53 as follows:
54 § 400.04 Temporary license to carry or possess firearms.
55 1. Eligibility. A person is eligible for a temporary license to carry
56 or possess a firearm in New York state where:
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1 (a) such person is domiciled in a state of the United States which
2 does not require a license or permit to possess or carry a firearm, as
3 defined in subdivision three of section 265.00 of this chapter, provided
4 that such person shall comply with the requirements set forth in para-
5 graphs (a) through (e) of subdivision one of section 400.00 of this
6 article and that there is no good cause for the denial of the license;
7 or
8 (b) such person has a pistol license or permit issued in accordance
9 with the laws of the state of issuance, where that state is a state of
10 the United States which is a jurisdiction that does not authorize such
11 license or registration by a person who has been previously convicted of
12 a felony; provided that such person shall comply with the requirements
13 set forth in paragraphs (a) through (e) of subdivision one of section
14 400.00 of this article and where there is no good cause for the denial
15 of the license; or
16 (c) such person is licensed in a state of the United States which is a
17 jurisdiction that allows licensing by a person who has been previously
18 convicted of a felony, provided that such person must comply with the
19 requirements set forth in paragraphs (a) through (e) of subdivision one
20 of section 400.00 of this article and there is no good cause for the
21 denial of the license.
22 Nothing in this section requires the granting of a temporary pistol
23 license to any person who has previously been convicted of a felony or
24 of a crime which, if committed in this state, would be a felony,
25 notwithstanding that the jurisdiction in which such person is domiciled
26 allows licensing by such person.
27 2. Applications. (a) Applications for a temporary license to carry or
28 possess a pistol or revolver shall be made to the division of state
29 police and the licensing officer shall be the superintendent of state
30 police.
31 (b) The application for such temporary license shall be approved as to
32 form by the superintendent of the division of state police and shall
33 state:
34 (i) the number of days for which the temporary license will be in
35 effect, including the exact range of dates it will be in effect, except
36 that such time period shall not exceed ninety days.
37 (ii) the full name, date of birth, address of permanent residence,
38 place of temporary residence while in New York state, and present occu-
39 pation of the applicant.
40 (iii) whether or not the applicant is a citizen of the United States.
41 (iv) whether or not the applicant complies with each requirement for
42 eligibility specified in subdivision one of this section including
43 documentation regarding other state licenses; and
44 (v) such other facts as may be required to show the good character,
45 competency and integrity of each applicant.
46 (c) The blank application form shall be made available on the New York
47 state division of police website.
48 (d) The application shall be signed and verified by the applicant.
49 Each individual signing an application shall submit one photograph of
50 himself and a duplicate for each required copy of the application. Such
51 photographs shall be two inches square and shall have been taken within
52 thirty days prior to submitting the application.
53 (e) The licensing officer shall, no later than ten business days after
54 such submission, conduct an investigation and ascertain any previous
55 criminal record of the applicant pursuant to subdivision four of this
56 section.
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1 (f) No later than ten business days after completion of this investi-
2 gation, the division of state police licensing officer shall determine
3 if the applicant has been previously denied a license, been convicted of
4 a felony, or been convicted of a serious offense, and either approve or
5 disapprove the application for a temporary pistol license based upon
6 such determinations and shall issue the license to the applicant within
7 ten days of such determination.
8 (g) Applications shall be processed in accordance with the require-
9 ments of subdivisions four-a and four-b of section 400.00 of this arti-
10 cle, except that where the applicant's eligibility is based on paragraph
11 (b) of subdivision one of this section such application must be proc-
12 essed and the investigation completed within sixty days of submission of
13 the application to the licensing officer.
14 (h) Approved applications shall be maintained on file by the division
15 of state police after issuance of the license.
16 3. Investigations. The investigation required for issuance of a tempo-
17 rary license to carry or possess a firearm shall be conducted in the
18 same manner and upon the same terms and conditions as investigations
19 required for licenses issued pursuant to section 400.00 of this article
20 provided, however, the results shall be provided to the superintendent
21 of state police in his or her capacity as licensing officer.
22 4. License form, duration and validity. (a) Any license issued pursu-
23 ant to this section shall be in accordance with the form set forth in
24 subdivision seven of section 400.00 of this article.
25 (b) Any license issued pursuant to this section shall be valid
26 throughout the state except where it would be limited by the provisions
27 of subdivision six of section 400.00 of this article.
28 (c) In no instance shall the duration of a temporary license exceed
29 ninety days.
30 (d) The temporary license shall, in at least sixteen point font, indi-
31 cate that it is a temporary license and indicate the expiration date of
32 such temporary license.
33 (e) A temporary license issued pursuant to this section may be revoked
34 or suspended on the same terms and under the same circumstances as set
35 forth in subdivision eleven of section 400.00 of this article.
36 5. Fees. The superintendent of the division of state police shall fix
37 a licensing fee to be charged for a temporary license to carry or
38 possess a pistol or revolver based on the expense of carrying out the
39 provisions of this section. Such fee may be adjusted by the superinten-
40 dent of the division of state police, on an annual basis, where neces-
41 sary to ensure that the licensing fees adequately cover the expense of
42 carrying out the provisions of this section without significantly
43 exceeding such costs.
44 6. Applicability of section. The provisions of article two hundred
45 sixty-five of this chapter relating to illegal possession of a firearm,
46 shall not apply to an offense which also constitutes a violation of this
47 section by a person holding an otherwise valid license under the
48 provisions of this section and such offense shall only be punishable as
49 a class A misdemeanor.
50 § 5. Section 265.10 of the penal law is amended by adding a new subdi-
51 vision 2-a to read as follows:
52 2-a. Notwithstanding any other provision of any law or any rule or
53 regulation of the state of New York or any political subdivision there-
54 of, any person who is not otherwise prohibited by federal law from
55 transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm shall be entitled to
56 transport a firearm for any lawful purpose through New York state from
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1 any place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm to any
2 other place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm if,
3 during such transportation the firearm is unloaded, and neither the
4 firearm nor any ammunition being transported is readily accessible or is
5 directly accessible from the passenger compartment of such transporting
6 vehicle; provided, that, in the case of a vehicle without a compartment
7 separate from the driver's compartment the firearm or ammunition shall
8 be contained in a locked container other than the glove compartment or
9 console.
10 § 6. Subdivision 3 of section 265.03 of the penal law, as amended by
11 chapter 745 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
12 (3) such person possesses any loaded firearm. Such possession shall
13 not, except as provided in subdivision one or seven of section 265.02 of
14 this article, constitute a violation of this subdivision if such
15 possession takes place in such person's home or place of business. It
16 shall be an affirmative defense to a charge under this subdivision that
17 such person is a nonresident of New York state who is duly authorized to
18 carry such firearm in such person's state of residence or if such person
19 is a resident of New York state who is duly licensed to carry a firearm,
20 and if such person has not previously been charged with any violation of
21 this section.
22 § 7. Section 265.01 of the penal law is amended by adding a new undes-
23 ignated paragraph to read as follows:
24 It shall be an affirmative defense to a charge of possession of a
25 firearm under subdivision one of this section if such possession of a
26 firearm is by a nonresident of New York state who is authorized to carry
27 such firearm in such person's state of residence or if such person is a
28 resident of New York state who is duly licensed to carry a firearm in
29 New York state, and if such person has not previously been charged with
30 possession of a firearm under this section.
31 § 8. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
32 have become a law.
