Bill Text: NY A06806 | 2013-2014 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Allows a member of the Niagara county clerk's office to access mental hygiene records to assist in the firearm permit application investigation process.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-04-07 - held for consideration in codes [A06806 Detail]

Download: New_York-2013-A06806-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         6806
                              2013-2014 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                    April 19, 2013
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by M. of A. CERETTO -- read once and referred to the Commit-
         tee on Codes
       AN ACT amending the penal law, in relation to allowing a member  of  the
         Niagara  county  clerk's  office  to  access mental health records for
         firearm license applications
         THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section  1.  Subdivision  4  of  section  400.00  of the penal law, as
    2  amended by chapter 331 of the laws  of  2005,  is  amended  to  read  as
    3  follows:
    4    4.  Investigation.  Before a license is issued or renewed, there shall
    5  be an investigation of all statements required in the application by the
    6  duly constituted police authorities of the locality where such  applica-
    7  tion is made. For that purpose, the records of the appropriate office of
    8  the  department  of mental hygiene concerning previous or present mental
    9  illness of the applicant shall be available for inspection by the inves-
   10  tigating officer of the police authority OR IN  NIAGARA  COUNTY  RECORDS
   11  MAY BE ACCESSED BY A CERTIFIED EMPLOYEE OF THE COUNTY CLERK'S OFFICE WHO
   12  IS  AUTHORIZED  TO  ACCESS  CLINICAL  RECORDS IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION
   13  33.12 OF THE MENTAL HYGIENE LAW. In  order  to  ascertain  any  previous
   14  criminal  record,  the investigating officer shall take the fingerprints
   15  and physical descriptive data in quadruplicate  of  each  individual  by
   16  whom  the application is signed and verified. Two copies of such finger-
   17  prints shall be taken on standard fingerprint cards eight inches square,
   18  and one copy may be taken on a card supplied for  that  purpose  by  the
   19  federal  bureau of investigation; provided, however, that in the case of
   20  a corporate applicant that has already been issued a dealer in  firearms
   21  license  and seeks to operate a firearm dealership at a second or subse-
   22  quent location, the original fingerprints on file may be used to  ascer-
   23  tain  any criminal record in the second or subsequent application unless
   24  any of the corporate officers have changed since the prior  application,
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD02349-02-3
       A. 6806                             2
    1  in  which  case  the  new corporate officer shall comply with procedures
    2  governing an initial application for such license. When  completed,  one
    3  standard  card  shall  be  forwarded  to and retained by the division of
    4  criminal  justice  services  in  the  executive department, at Albany. A
    5  search of the files of such division and  written  notification  of  the
    6  results of the search to the investigating officer shall be made without
    7  unnecessary delay.  Thereafter, such division shall notify the licensing
    8  officer  and the executive department, division of state police, Albany,
    9  of any criminal record of the applicant filed therein subsequent to  the
   10  search  of its files. A second standard card, or the one supplied by the
   11  federal bureau of investigation, as the case may be, shall be  forwarded
   12  to that bureau at Washington with a request that the files of the bureau
   13  be searched and notification of the results of the search be made to the
   14  investigating  police  authority.  The failure or refusal of the federal
   15  bureau of investigation to make the fingerprint check  provided  for  in
   16  this  section shall not constitute the sole basis for refusal to issue a
   17  permit pursuant to the provisions of this section. Of the remaining  two
   18  fingerprint  cards,  one  shall  be filed with the executive department,
   19  division of state police, Albany, within ten days after issuance of  the
   20  license,  and  the  other  remain  on file with the investigating police
   21  authority. No such fingerprints may be inspected  by  any  person  other
   22  than a peace officer, who is acting pursuant to his special duties, or a
   23  police  officer,  except  on  order  of a judge or justice of a court of
   24  record either upon notice to the licensee  or  without  notice,  as  the
   25  judge  or  justice may deem appropriate. Upon completion of the investi-
   26  gation, the police authority shall report the results to  the  licensing
   27  officer without unnecessary delay.
   28    S  2.  Subdivision 4 of section 400.00 of the penal law, as amended by
   29  chapter 1 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   30    4. Investigation. Before a license is issued or renewed,  there  shall
   31  be an investigation of all statements required in the application by the
   32  duly  constituted police authorities of the locality where such applica-
   33  tion is made, including but not limited to such records as may be acces-
   34  sible to the division of state police or division  of  criminal  justice
   35  services  pursuant  to section 400.02 of this article. For that purpose,
   36  the records of the  appropriate  office  of  the  department  of  mental
   37  hygiene  concerning  previous or present mental illness of the applicant
   38  shall be available for inspection by the investigating  officer  of  the
   39  police  authority  OR  IN  NIAGARA  COUNTY  RECORDS MAY BE ACCESSED BY A
   40  CERTIFIED EMPLOYEE OF THE COUNTY CLERK'S OFFICE  WHO  IS  AUTHORIZED  TO
   41  ACCESS  CLINICAL  RECORDS IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 33.12 OF THE MENTAL
   42  HYGIENE LAW. In order to ascertain any  previous  criminal  record,  the
   43  investigating  officer shall take the fingerprints and physical descrip-
   44  tive data in quadruplicate of each individual by whom the application is
   45  signed and verified. Two copies of such fingerprints shall be  taken  on
   46  standard  fingerprint  cards  eight  inches  square, and one copy may be
   47  taken on a card supplied for that  purpose  by  the  federal  bureau  of
   48  investigation; provided, however, that in the case of a corporate appli-
   49  cant that has already been issued a dealer in firearms license and seeks
   50  to  operate a firearm dealership at a second or subsequent location, the
   51  original fingerprints on file may be  used  to  ascertain  any  criminal
   52  record  in the second or subsequent application unless any of the corpo-
   53  rate officers have changed since the prior application,  in  which  case
   54  the  new  corporate  officer  shall  comply with procedures governing an
   55  initial application for such license. When completed, one standard  card
   56  shall  be  forwarded to and retained by the division of criminal justice
       A. 6806                             3
    1  services in the executive department, at Albany. A search of  the  files
    2  of  such  division and written notification of the results of the search
    3  to the investigating officer shall be made  without  unnecessary  delay.
    4  Thereafter,  such  division  shall  notify the licensing officer and the
    5  executive department, division of state police, Albany, of any  criminal
    6  record  of  the  applicant filed therein subsequent to the search of its
    7  files. A second standard card, or the one supplied by the federal bureau
    8  of investigation, as the case may be, shall be forwarded to that  bureau
    9  at  Washington  with  a request that the files of the bureau be searched
   10  and notification of the results of the search be made to the investigat-
   11  ing police authority. Of the remaining two fingerprint cards, one  shall
   12  be  filed with the executive department, division of state police, Alba-
   13  ny, within ten days after issuance of the license, and the other  remain
   14  on  file  with  the investigating police authority. No such fingerprints
   15  may be inspected by any person other than a peace officer, who is acting
   16  pursuant to his special duties, or a police officer, except on order  of
   17  a judge or justice of a court of record either upon notice to the licen-
   18  see  or  without  notice,  as the judge or justice may deem appropriate.
   19  Upon completion of the investigation, the police authority shall  report
   20  the results to the licensing officer without unnecessary delay.
   21    S  3.  This act shall take effect immediately, provided, however, that
   22  the amendments to subdivision 4 of section 400.00 of the penal law  made
   23  by section two of this act shall take effect on the same date and in the
   24  same  manner  as  section  48  of  chapter  1 of the laws of 2013, takes
   25  effect.