Bill Text: NY A01589 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Requires a purchaser of any firearm, rifle or shotgun to submit to a mental health evaluation and provide the seller with his or her approval to purchase such firearm.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 12-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-22 - print number 1589a [A01589 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A01589-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1589--A 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 15, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. ABINANTI, TAYLOR, D'URSO, ORTIZ, VANEL, JAFFEE, PAULIN, BENEDETTO, SEAWRIGHT, ARROYO, DARLING -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. COOK -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes -- 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 committee AN ACT to amend the general business law, the mental hygiene law and the penal law, in relation to requiring a mental health evaluation prior to the purchase of any firearm, rifle or shotgun The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 897 of the general business law is amended by 2 adding a new subdivision 1-a to read as follows: 3 1-a. Before any sale, exchange, or disposal pursuant to this article, 4 a purchaser of any firearm, rifle or shotgun shall submit to a mental 5 health evaluation and provide the seller with proof of his or her 6 approval to purchase such firearm, rifle or shotgun pursuant to subdivi- 7 sion (m) of section 7.09 of the mental hygiene law. 8 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 898 of the general business law, as 9 amended by chapter 129 of the laws of 2019, is amended and a new subdi- 10 vision 2-a is added to read as follows: 11 1. In addition to any other requirements pursuant to state and federal 12 law, all sales, exchanges or disposals of firearms, rifles or shotguns 13 shall be conducted in accordance with this section unless such sale, 14 exchange or disposal is conducted by a licensed importer[,] or licensed 15 manufacturer [or licensed dealer], as those terms are defined in 18 USC 16 § 922, when such sale, exchange or disposal is conducted pursuant to 17 that person's federal firearms license [or such sale, exchange or18disposal is between members of an immediate family]. When a sale, 19 exchange or disposal is conducted pursuant to a person's federal 20 firearms license, before delivering a firearm, rifle or shotgun to any EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD05237-02-9A. 1589--A 2 1 person, either (a) the National Instant Criminal Background Check System 2 (NICS) or its successor has issued a "proceed" response to the federal 3 firearms licensee, or (b) thirty calendar days shall have elapsed since 4 the date the federal firearms licensee contacted NICS to initiate a 5 national instant criminal background check and NICS has not notified the 6 federal firearms licensee that the transfer of the firearm, rifle or 7 shotgun to such person should be denied. [For purposes of this section,8"immediate family" shall mean spouses, domestic partners, children and9step-children.] 10 2-a. Before any sale, exchange, or disposal pursuant to this article, 11 a purchaser of any firearm, rifle or shotgun shall submit to a mental 12 health evaluation and provide the seller with proof of his or her 13 approval to purchase such firearm, rifle or shotgun pursuant to subdivi- 14 sion (m) of section 7.09 of the mental hygiene law. 15 § 3. Section 7.09 of the mental hygiene law is amended by adding a new 16 subdivision (m) to read as follows: 17 (m) The commissioner shall establish within the office of mental 18 health an administrative process for the mental health evaluation of any 19 individual prior to such individual's purchase of any firearm, rifle or 20 shotgun. The commissioner shall promulgate regulations to establish the 21 mental health evaluation process, which shall include, but not be limit- 22 ed to, provisions relating to: (1) the mental health professionals 23 approved to perform such evaluation, (2) the process for evaluation by 24 such mental health professionals and (3) the development of a standard- 25 ized form to be used by the mental health professional performing such 26 evaluation to approve or deny an individual for purchase of a firearm, 27 rifle or shotgun. The denial of an individual for purchase of any 28 firearm, rifle or shotgun may be reviewed de novo pursuant to the 29 proceedings under article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and 30 rules. 31 § 4. Subdivision 3 of section 265.17 of the penal law, as added by 32 chapter 1 of the laws of 2013, is amended and a new subdivision 4 is 33 added to read as follows: 34 3. Knowing that another person is prohibited by law from possessing a 35 firearm, rifle or shotgun because of a prior conviction or because of 36 some other disability which would render him or her ineligible to 37 lawfully possess a firearm, rifle or shotgun in this state, a person 38 disposes of a firearm, rifle or shotgun to such other person[.]; or 39 4. Knowing that a mental health evaluation is required pursuant to 40 subdivision (m) of section 7.09 of the mental hygiene law, he or she 41 either purchases or disposes of a firearm, rifle or shotgun without such 42 mental health evaluation approval for purchase. 43 § 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 44 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend- 45 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen- 46 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and 47 completed on or before such date.
