STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4798--C
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 3, 2017
___________
Introduced by M. of A. L. ROSENTHAL, MAYER, GOTTFRIED, ABINANTI, JAFFEE,
HARRIS, HOOPER, WEPRIN -- read once and referred to the Committee on
Codes -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
amended and recommitted to said committee -- again reported from said
committee with amendments, ordered reprinted as amended and recommit-
ted to said committee -- recommitted to the Committee on Codes in
accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee
AN ACT to amend the penal law and the state finance law, in relation to
establishing a municipal gun tip hotline and municipal gun tip hotline
fund
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 400.15 to
2 read as follows:
3 § 400.15 Municipal gun tip hotline program.
4 1. For purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the
5 following meanings:
6 (a) "Agency" means the police force or department of any county, city,
7 town, or village or a county sheriff.
8 (b) "Municipal gun tip hotline program" means any program in which a
9 fully functioning illegal firearm, rifle, shotgun or ammunition may be
10 reported or surrendered to an agency pursuant to this section.
11 (c) "Superintendent" means the superintendent of the division of state
12 police.
13 (d) "Secretary" means the secretary of the department of state.
14 2. The municipal gun tip hotline program is hereby established. Agen-
15 cies may participate at their option as funds are allocated through the
16 municipal gun tip hotline fund established under section ninety-seven-cc
17 of the state finance law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05420-06-8
A. 4798--C 2
1 3. The division of state police, in conjunction with the department of
2 state shall administer this program and promulgate any rules and regu-
3 lations the superintendent deems necessary for the implementation of
4 this program. Such rules may include:
5 (a) guidelines for an agency participating in the program to coordi-
6 nate with community groups within its jurisdiction. Such guidelines
7 shall include, but not be limited to:
8 (i) allowing individuals to anonymously report or turn in illegal
9 fully functioning guns and then collect a five hundred dollar reward;
10 (ii) all calls are anonymous and no arrest or conviction is required
11 for the caller to receive the reward; and
12 (iii) individuals with information about the location of fully func-
13 tioning illegal guns or who wish to turn in such firearms shall make two
14 phone calls to the anonymous tip hotline established by the agency.
15 During the initial phone conversation in which the caller provides
16 information about the illegal firearm, the caller receives a confiden-
17 tial identification number and is instructed to call back at a later
18 date. During the second phone call, the caller uses the identification
19 number to check whether an illegal firearm was recovered as a result of
20 the initial call and, if so, the caller is provided a second identifica-
21 tion number and instructed to communicate with a specific bank to
22 collect the reward of five hundred dollars;
23 (b) the manner in which an agency may apply for funds to support a
24 municipal gun tip hotline program and the manner in which the funds will
25 be allocated and distributed;
26 (c) guidelines for the safe storage and disposal of recovered
27 firearms, rifles, shotguns, or ammunition in the possession of the
28 participating agency, return of any recovered stolen property to its
29 rightful owner as appropriate, and retention for evidence of any
30 firearm, rifle, or shotgun determined to have been used in a crime; and
31 (d) provisions for checking the serial number of every firearm, rifle,
32 or shotgun obtained by such gun buyback program against the New York
33 Statewide Police Information Network records.
34 4. Any person participating in a municipal gun tip hotline program
35 pursuant to this section shall be immune from criminal prosecution for
36 the criminal offenses established by sections 265.01, 265.02, 265.03,
37 and 265.05 of this chapter, provided the person is, in good faith,
38 acting to surrender a firearm through the program.
39 5. Any police agency shall be authorized to develop and implement its
40 own municipal gun tip hotline program provided it is otherwise permitted
41 by law and conforms to the rules outlined in subdivision three of this
42 section.
43 § 2. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 97-cc to
44 read as follows:
45 § 97-cc. Municipal gun tip hotline fund. 1. There is hereby estab-
46 lished, in the joint custody of the superintendent of state police and
47 the secretary of state a fund to be known as the municipal gun tip
48 hotline fund.
49 2. The superintendent and the secretary shall promulgate rules and
50 regulations for the implementation and distribution of this fund to
51 assist municipalities in the municipal gun tip hotline program estab-
52 lished under section 400.15 of the penal law. Such rules and regulations
53 shall authorize police agencies that develop and implement their own
54 plans pursuant to subdivision five of section 400.15 of the penal law to
55 be eligible to participate in the municipal gun tip hotline fund,
A. 4798--C 3
1 provided the superintendent of state police authorizes participation in
2 the fund.
3 3. Funding may be allocated from the general fund or acquired through
4 donations from private businesses, charities and individuals or from
5 assets, seizures and forfeitures collected by the agencies.
6 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
7 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
8 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
9 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
10 completed on or before such effective date.