Bill Text: NY S01413 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates 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; requires a person applying for a license to carry or possess a pistol or revolver or a renewal of such license to consent to having his or her social media accounts and search engine history reviewed and investigated for certain posts and/or searches over a period of 1-3 years prior to the approval of such application or renewal; defines terms.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO CODES [S01413 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S01413-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1413 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 14, 2019 ___________ Introduced by Sen. PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to requiring social media reviews prior to the approval of an application of a license to carry or possess a pistol or revolver; and to amend the penal law, in relation to requiring social media reviews prior to the delivery of a rifle or shotgun 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 and subdivision 4 of section 2 400.00 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 1 of the laws of 2013, 3 are amended to read as follows: 4 (a) Applications shall be made and renewed, in the case of a license 5 to carry or possess a pistol or revolver, to the licensing officer in 6 the city or county, as the case may be, where the applicant resides, is 7 principally employed or has his or her principal place of business as 8 merchant or storekeeper; and, in the case of a license as gunsmith or 9 dealer in firearms, to the licensing officer where such place of busi- 10 ness is located. Blank applications shall, except in the city of New 11 York, be approved as to form by the superintendent of state police. An 12 application shall state the full name, date of birth, residence, present 13 occupation of each person or individual signing the same, whether or not 14 he or she is a citizen of the United States, whether or not he or she 15 complies with each requirement for eligibility specified in subdivision 16 one of this section, consent to have his or her social media accounts 17 reviewed and investigated pursuant to subdivision four of this section, 18 and such other facts as may be required to show the good character, 19 competency and integrity of each person or individual signing the appli- 20 cation. The social media account consent required pursuant to this 21 subdivision shall include two check boxes as part of the application 22 with the following typed in clear and conspicuous type: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD06589-01-9S. 1413 2 1 "I consent to making my social media page public for a period of sixty 2 days."; and 3 "I certify that no content on my social media page has been altered or 4 removed sixty days prior to my application date and such content shall 5 not be altered or removed until the investigation required to approve 6 this application has been completed." 7 Failure to check such box shall result in denial of an application. An 8 application shall be signed and verified by the applicant. Such appli- 9 cation shall inform the applicant that he or she signs such application 10 under the penalties of perjury. Each individual signing an application 11 shall submit one photograph of himself or herself and a duplicate for 12 each required copy of the application. Such photographs shall have been 13 taken within thirty days prior to filing the application. In case of a 14 license as gunsmith or dealer in firearms, the photographs submitted 15 shall be two inches square, and the application shall also state the 16 previous occupation of each individual signing the same and the location 17 of the place of such business, or of the bureau, agency, subagency, 18 office or branch office for which the license is sought, specifying the 19 name of the city, town or village, indicating the street and number and 20 otherwise giving such apt description as to point out reasonably the 21 location thereof. In such case, if the applicant is a firm, partnership 22 or corporation, its name, date and place of formation, and principal 23 place of business shall be stated. For such firm or partnership, the 24 application shall be signed and verified by each individual composing or 25 intending to compose the same, and for such corporation, by each officer 26 thereof. 27 4. Investigation. Before a license is issued or renewed, there shall 28 be an investigation of all statements required in the application by the 29 duly constituted police authorities of the locality where such applica- 30 tion is made, including but not limited to such records as may be acces- 31 sible to the division of state police or division of criminal justice 32 services pursuant to section 400.02 of this article. For that purpose, 33 the records of the appropriate office of the department of mental 34 hygiene concerning previous or present mental illness of the applicant 35 shall be available for inspection by the investigating officer of the 36 police authority. In order to ascertain any previous criminal record, 37 the investigating officer shall take the fingerprints and physical 38 descriptive data in quadruplicate of each individual by whom the appli- 39 cation is signed and verified. Two copies of such fingerprints shall be 40 taken on standard fingerprint cards eight inches square, and one copy 41 may be taken on a card supplied for that purpose by the federal bureau 42 of investigation; provided, however, that in the case of a corporate 43 applicant that has already been issued a dealer in firearms license and 44 seeks to operate a firearm dealership at a second or subsequent 45 location, the original fingerprints on file may be used to ascertain any 46 criminal record in the second or subsequent application unless any of 47 the corporate officers have changed since the prior application, in 48 which case the new corporate officer shall comply with procedures 49 governing an initial application for such license. When completed, one 50 standard card shall be forwarded to and retained by the division of 51 criminal justice services in the executive department, at Albany. A 52 search of the files of such division and written notification of the 53 results of the search to the investigating officer shall be made without 54 unnecessary delay. Thereafter, such division shall notify the licensing 55 officer and the executive department, division of state police, Albany, 56 of any criminal record of the applicant filed therein subsequent to theS. 1413 3 1 search of its files. A second standard card, or the one supplied by the 2 federal bureau of investigation, as the case may be, shall be forwarded 3 to that bureau at Washington with a request that the files of the bureau 4 be searched and notification of the results of the search be made to the 5 investigating police authority. Of the remaining two fingerprint cards, 6 one shall be filed with the executive department, division of state 7 police, Albany, within ten days after issuance of the license, and the 8 other remain on file with the investigating police authority. No such 9 fingerprints may be inspected by any person other than a peace officer, 10 who is acting pursuant to his special duties, or a police officer, 11 except on order of a judge or justice of a court of record either upon 12 notice to the licensee or without notice, as the judge or justice may 13 deem appropriate. In order to ascertain whether any social media 14 account of an applicant presents any good cause for the denial of a 15 license, the investigating officer shall, after obtaining the appli- 16 cant's consent pursuant to subdivision three of this section, review an 17 applicant's social media accounts for the previous three years and 18 investigate an applicant's posts related to (i) excessive discriminatory 19 content; or (ii) content that is likely to incite or produce a violent 20 action in or towards others. For the purposes of this subdivision, 21 "social media accounts" shall only include Facebook, Youtube, Gab, Twit- 22 ter and Instagram and "excessive" shall mean more than one hundred 23 posts. Upon completion of the investigation, the police authority shall 24 report the results to the licensing officer without unnecessary delay. 25 § 2. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 400.20 to read 26 as follows: 27 § 400.20 Social media account review prior to the delivery of a rifle or 28 shotgun. 29 1. Prior to the delivery of any rifle or shotgun sold by a licensed 30 dealer to any person, the purchaser shall consent to have his or her 31 social media accounts reviewed and investigated by the police authority 32 of the locality where such sale is made. A form providing consent 33 pursuant to this subdivision shall include two check boxes with the 34 following typed in clear and conspicuous type: 35 "I consent to making my social media page public for a period of sixty 36 days."; and 37 "I certify that no content on my social media page has been altered or 38 removed sixty days prior to my application date and such content shall 39 not be altered or removed until the investigation required to approve 40 this application has been completed." 41 Failure to check such box shall result in denial of an application. 42 Such form shall be signed and verified by the purchaser and shall inform 43 the purchaser that he or she signs such form under the penalties of 44 perjury. After completion of the review pursuant to subdivision two of 45 this section, the purchaser shall provide the licensed dealer with proof 46 of his or her approval to purchase such rifle or shotgun. 47 2. In order to ascertain whether any social media account of a 48 purchaser of a rifle or shotgun presents any good cause for the denial 49 of such purchase, the police authority of the locality where such sale 50 is made shall, after obtaining the purchaser's consent pursuant to 51 subdivision one of this section review a purchaser's social media 52 accounts for the previous three years and investigate posts related to 53 (i) excessive discriminatory content; or (ii) content that is likely to 54 incite or produce a violent action in or towards others. For the 55 purposes of this section, "social media accounts" shall only include 56 Facebook, Youtube, Gab, Twitter and Instagram and "excessive" shall meanS. 1413 4 1 more than one hundred posts. Upon completion of the investigation, the 2 police authority shall report the results to the purchaser without 3 unnecessary delay and, if appropriate, provide the purchaser with proof 4 of approval to purchase such rifle or shotgun. 5 § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 6 have become a law. Effective immediately the addition, amendment and/or 7 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of 8 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed 9 on or before such effective date.
