STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          9191
                    IN SENATE
                                    November 14, 2018
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
        AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to requiring social media and
          search engine reviews prior to  the  approval  of  an  application  or
          renewal of a license to carry or possess 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 (a) of subdivision 3, subdivision  4,  and  para-
     2  graph  (b)  of  subdivision 10 of section 400.00 of the penal law, para-
     3  graph (a) of subdivision 3 and subdivision 4 as  amended  and  paragraph
     4  (b)  of  subdivision  10  as added by chapter 1 of the laws of 2013, are
     5  amended to read as follows:
     6    (a) Applications shall be made and renewed, in the case of  a  license
     7  to  carry  or  possess a pistol or revolver, to the licensing officer in
     8  the city or county, as the case may be, where the applicant resides,  is
     9  principally  employed  or  has his or her principal place of business as
    10  merchant or storekeeper; and, in the case of a license  as  gunsmith  or
    11  dealer  in  firearms, to the licensing officer where such place of busi-
    12  ness is located. Blank applications shall, except in  the  city  of  New
    13  York,  be  approved as to form by the superintendent of state police. An
    14  application shall state the full name, date of birth, residence, present
    15  occupation of each person or individual signing the same, whether or not
    16  he or she is a citizen of the United States, whether or not  he  or  she
    17  complies  with each requirement for eligibility specified in subdivision
    18  one of this section, consent to have his or her  social  media  accounts
    19  and search engine history reviewed and investigated pursuant to subdivi-
    20  sion  four  of  this section, and such other facts as may be required to
    21  show the good character, competency and  integrity  of  each  person  or
    22  individual  signing  the application. An application shall be signed and
    23  verified by the applicant. Each individual signing an application  shall
    24  submit  one  photograph  of  himself or herself and a duplicate for each
    25  required copy of the application. Such photographs shall have been taken
    26  within thirty days prior to filing the application. In case of a license
    27  as gunsmith or dealer in firearms, the photographs  submitted  shall  be
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD16703-01-8

        S. 9191                             2
     1  two  inches  square,  and  the application shall also state the previous
     2  occupation of each individual signing the same and the location  of  the
     3  place  of  such business, or of the bureau, agency, subagency, office or
     4  branch  office  for  which the license is sought, specifying the name of
     5  the city, town or village, indicating the street and number  and  other-
     6  wise giving such apt description as to point out reasonably the location
     7  thereof. In such case, if the applicant is a firm, partnership or corpo-
     8  ration,  its  name,  date and place of formation, and principal place of
     9  business shall be stated. For such firm or partnership, the  application
    10  shall  be  signed and verified by each individual composing or intending
    11  to compose the same, and for such corporation, by each officer thereof.
    12    4. Investigation. Before a license is issued or renewed,  there  shall
    13  be an investigation of all statements required in the application by the
    14  duly  constituted police authorities of the locality where such applica-
    15  tion is made, including but not limited to such records as may be acces-
    16  sible to the division of state police or division  of  criminal  justice
    17  services  pursuant  to section 400.02 of this article. For that purpose,
    18  the records of the  appropriate  office  of  the  department  of  mental
    19  hygiene  concerning  previous or present mental illness of the applicant
    20  shall be available for inspection by the investigating  officer  of  the
    21  police  authority.  In  order to ascertain any previous criminal record,
    22  the investigating officer  shall  take  the  fingerprints  and  physical
    23  descriptive  data in quadruplicate of each individual by whom the appli-
    24  cation is signed and verified. Two copies of such fingerprints shall  be
    25  taken  on  standard  fingerprint cards eight inches square, and one copy
    26  may be taken on a card supplied for that purpose by the  federal  bureau
    27  of  investigation;  provided,  however,  that in the case of a corporate
    28  applicant that has already been issued a dealer in firearms license  and
    29  seeks  to  operate  a  firearm  dealership  at  a  second  or subsequent
    30  location, the original fingerprints on file may be used to ascertain any
    31  criminal record in the second or subsequent application  unless  any  of
    32  the  corporate  officers  have  changed  since the prior application, in
    33  which case the  new  corporate  officer  shall  comply  with  procedures
    34  governing  an  initial application for such license. When completed, one
    35  standard card shall be forwarded to and  retained  by  the  division  of
    36  criminal  justice  services  in  the  executive department, at Albany. A
    37  search of the files of such division and  written  notification  of  the
    38  results of the search to the investigating officer shall be made without
    39  unnecessary  delay. Thereafter, such division shall notify the licensing
    40  officer and the executive department, division of state police,  Albany,
    41  of  any criminal record of the applicant filed therein subsequent to the
    42  search of its files. A second standard card, or the one supplied by  the
    43  federal  bureau of investigation, as the case may be, shall be forwarded
    44  to that bureau at Washington with a request that the files of the bureau
    45  be searched and notification of the results of the search be made to the
    46  investigating police authority. Of the remaining two fingerprint  cards,
    47  one  shall  be  filed  with  the executive department, division of state
    48  police, Albany, within ten days after issuance of the license,  and  the
    49  other  remain  on  file with the investigating police authority. No such
    50  fingerprints may be inspected by any person other than a peace  officer,
    51  who  is  acting  pursuant  to  his  special duties, or a police officer,
    52  except on order of a judge or justice of a court of record  either  upon
    53  notice  to  the  licensee or without notice, as the judge or justice may
    54  deem appropriate.   In order  to  ascertain  whether  any  social  media
    55  account or search engine history of an applicant presents any good cause
    56  for  the  denial  of  a  license, the investigating officer shall, after

        S. 9191                             3
     1  obtaining the applicant's consent pursuant to subdivision three of  this
     2  section,  and  obtaining  any  log-in  name, password or other means for
     3  accessing a personal  account,  service,  or  electronic  communications
     4  device  necessary  to  review such applicant's social media accounts and
     5  search engine history, review an applicant's social media  accounts  for
     6  the previous three years and search engine history for the previous year
     7  and investigate an applicant's posts or searches related to (i) commonly
     8  known profane slurs or biased language used to describe the race, color,
     9  national  origin,  ancestry,  gender, religion, religious practice, age,
    10  disability or sexual orientation  of  a  person;  (ii)  threatening  the
    11  health  or  safety of another person; (iii) an act of terrorism; or (iv)
    12  any other issue deemed necessary by the investigating officer.  For  the
    13  purposes of this subdivision, "social media accounts" shall only include
    14  Facebook,  Snapchat,  Twitter  and  Instagram, and "search engine" shall
    15  only include Google, Yahoo and Bing. Upon  completion  of  the  investi-
    16  gation,  the  police authority shall report the results to the licensing
    17  officer without unnecessary delay.
    18    (b) All licensees shall be recertified to the division of state police
    19  every five years thereafter. Any license  issued  before  the  effective
    20  date  of  [the]  chapter one of the laws of two thousand thirteen [which
    21  added this paragraph] shall be recertified by the licensee on or  before
    22  January  thirty-first, two thousand eighteen, and not less than one year
    23  prior to such date, the state police shall send a notice to all  license
    24  holders  who  have  not  recertified  by such time. Such recertification
    25  shall be in a form as approved by the superintendent  of  state  police,
    26  which  shall  request  the license holder's name, date of birth, gender,
    27  race, residential address, social security number, consent to  have  his
    28  or  her  social  media  accounts  and search engine history reviewed and
    29  investigated, firearms possessed by such license holder,  email  address
    30  at the option of the license holder and an affirmation that such license
    31  holder is not prohibited from possessing firearms. The form may be in an
    32  electronic  form if so designated by the superintendent of state police.
    33  Failure to recertify shall act as a revocation of such license.  If  the
    34  New  York state police discover as a result of the recertification proc-
    35  ess that a licensee failed to provide a change of address, the New  York
    36  state  police  shall  not  require  the licensing officer to revoke such
    37  license.  In order to ascertain whether  any  social  media  account  or
    38  search  engine  history  of  a  licensee presents any good cause for the
    39  revocation of a license, the New York state police shall, after  obtain-
    40  ing  the  licensee's consent pursuant to this subdivision, and obtaining
    41  any log-in name, password  or  other  means  for  accessing  a  personal
    42  account,  service,  or  electronic  communications  device  necessary to
    43  review such licensee's social media accounts and search engine  history,
    44  review  a  licensee's social media accounts for the previous three years
    45  and search engine history for the previous year and investigate posts or
    46  searches related to (i) commonly known profane slurs or biased  language
    47  used  to  describe  the  race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender,
    48  religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation of a
    49  person; (ii) threatening the health or safety of another  person;  (iii)
    50  an act of terrorism; or (iv) any other issue deemed necessary by the New
    51  York  state  police. For the purposes of this subdivision, "social media
    52  accounts" shall only include Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and  Instagram,
    53  and  "search  engine"  shall  only  include Google, Yahoo and Bing. Upon
    54  completion of the investigation, the New York state police shall  report
    55  the results to the licensee without unnecessary delay.

        S. 9191                             4
     1    §  2.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
     2  have become a law. Effective immediately the addition, amendment  and/or
     3  repeal  of  any  rule  or regulation necessary for the implementation of
     4  this act on its effective date are authorized to be made  and  completed
     5  on or before such effective date.