What's happening
This bill requires background checks for gun license applicants domiciled in another state to include mental health records from that state.
Why it matters
Strengthens background checks for out-of-state applicants. by mandating law enforcement to actively seek mental health records from an applicant’s home state, closing a potential loophole where mental health issues might otherwise go undetected.
Requires applicants from outside New York to waive confidentiality. of their mental health records, ensuring that relevant mental health history can be accessed and reviewed as part of the gun licensing process even if such records are protected in their home state.
Aims to enhance public safety. by ensuring that individuals with disqualifying mental health histories—regardless of where those histories originated—are identified and prevented from obtaining firearms in New York.
Could create administrative and legal complexities. for both applicants and authorities, as it relies on cooperation from other states and may face challenges around varying state privacy laws and differing definitions of mental illness.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Check Out-of-State Mental Health
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 7
31 Co-sponsors
- Brian Kavanagh
- Joseph P. Addabbo Jr.
- Jamaal Bailey
- Brian Benjamin
- Alessandra Biaggi
- Neil D. Breslin
- John E. Brooks
- David Carlucci
- Leroy Comrie
- Jim Gaughran
- Michael Gianaris
- Andrew Gounardes
- Pete Harckham
- Brad Hoylman-Sigal
- Robert Jackson
- Todd Kaminsky
- Liz Krueger
- John Liu
- Shelley Mayer
- Velmanette Montgomery
- Zellnor Myrie
- Kevin S. Parker
- Roxanne J. Persaud
- Jessica Ramos
- Julia Salazar
- Diane J. Savino
- Luis R. Sepúlveda
- José M. Serrano
- Toby Ann Stavisky
- Andrea Stewart-Cousins
- Kevin Thomas
History
- Substituted by A1213
- Ordered to third reading cal.90
- Reported and committed to rules
- Referred to codes
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Check Out-of-State Mental Records
Signed by Governor · Sponsor Pamela J. Hunter
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2438
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 24, 2019
Introduced by Sens. KAPLAN, KAVANAGH, ADDABBO, BAILEY, BENJAMIN, BIAGGI, BRESLIN, BROOKS, CARLUCCI, COMRIE, GAUGHRAN, GIANARIS, GOUNARDES, HARCKHAM, HOYLMAN, JACKSON, KAMINSKY, KRUEGER, LIU, MAYER, MONTGOMERY, MYRIE, PARKER, PERSAUD, RAMOS, SALAZAR, SAVINO, SEPULVEDA, SERRANO, STAVISKY, STEWART-COUSINS, THOMAS -- 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 access to foreign state records
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section 400.00 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 1 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
4. Investigation. Before a license is issued or renewed, there shall be an investigation of all statements required in the application by the duly constituted police authorities of the locality where such application is made, including but not limited to such records as may be accessible to the division of state police or division of criminal justice services pursuant to section 400.02 of this article. For that purpose, the records of the appropriate office of the department of mental hygiene concerning previous or present mental illness of the applicant shall be available for inspection by the investigating officer of the police authority. Where the applicant is domiciled in a foreign state, the investigation shall include inquiry of the foreign state for records concerning the previous or present mental illness of the applicant, and, to the extent necessary for inspection by the investigating officer, the applicant shall execute a waiver of confidentiality of such record in such form as may be required by the foreign state. In order to ascertain any previous criminal record, the investigating officer shall take the fingerprints and physical descriptive data in quadruplicate of each individual by whom the application is signed and verified. Two copies of such fingerprints shall be taken on standard fingerprint cards eight
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
S LBD02184-01-9
S. 2438 2
inches square, and one copy may be taken on a card supplied for that purpose by the federal bureau of investigation; provided, however, that in the case of a corporate applicant that has already been issued a dealer in firearms license and seeks to operate a firearm dealership at a second or subsequent location, the original fingerprints on file may be used to ascertain any criminal record in the second or subsequent application unless any of the corporate officers have changed since the prior application, in which case the new corporate officer shall comply with procedures governing an initial application for such license. When completed, one standard card shall be forwarded to and retained by the division of criminal justice services in the executive department, at Albany. A search of the files of such division and written notification of the results of the search to the investigating officer shall be made without unnecessary delay. Thereafter, such division shall notify the licensing officer and the executive department, division of state police, Albany, of any criminal record of the applicant filed therein subsequent to the search of its files. A second standard card, or the one supplied by the federal bureau of investigation, as the case may be, shall be forwarded to that bureau at Washington with a request that the files of the bureau be searched and notification of the results of the search be made to the investigating police authority. Of the remaining two fingerprint cards, one shall be filed with the executive department, division of state police, Albany, within ten days after issuance of the license, and the other remain on file with the investigating police authority. No such fingerprints may be inspected by any person other than a peace officer, who is acting pursuant to his or her special duties, or a police officer, except on order of a judge or justice of a court of record either upon notice to the licensee or without notice, as the judge or justice may deem appropriate. Upon completion of the investigation, the police authority shall report the results to the licensing officer without unnecessary delay.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to access to foreign state records
Purpose or general idea of bill
Individuals who are domiciled in other states but reside in New York are able to apply for firearm licenses - but due to confidentiality rules. New York authorities may be prevented from investigating the mental illness record of those individuals in their home states. This measure addresses that flaw by requiring applicants to waive the confidentiality of their foreign home state mental illness records to the extent a waiv- er is necessary to permit the New York licensing authority to view those records.
Summary of provisions
This measure would amend section 400.00(4) of the Penal Law to require an applicant for a firearms license who is a New York resident but domi- ciled in a foreign state to exercise a waiver of confidentiality that would permit law enforcement officials to inquire of the foreign state about the applicant's mental health records.
Justification
The Court of Appeals recently held that a person can apply for a firearm license in the county of his or her residence, regardless of the place of the applicant's domicile (Osterweil v. Bartlett, 21 NY3d. 580 (2013)). The Osterweil decision has exposed a significant flaw in New York's statutory scheme involving firearms licenses. Currently. before a firearms license is issued, an investigation must be made of the applicant's history of mental illness. To that end, the licensing stat- ute provides that "the records of the appropriate office of the depart- ment of mental hygiene concerning previous or present mental illness of the applicant shall be made available for inspection by the investigat- ing officer of the police authority" (PL § 400.00(4)). This provision adequately ensures that the licensing authority will be aware of the mental health records of a New York State domiciliary because any such records are likely to be maintained by an office under the control of the department of mental hygiene. After Osterweil. however, foreign state domiciliaries who maintain a New York residence have begun to apply for firearm's licenses in New York without being subject to adequate investigation of their home state record of mental illness. Confidentiality rules prevent New York authorities from investigating the mental illness record of foreign states. Moreover, it is unlikely that New York residents who are domiciled elsewhere, many of whom only have vacation homes and summer camps in New York. will have a mental illness record in New York. Thus. there is little chance under current law for a complete investigation of the mental illness history of a foreign domiciliary.
This measure would close the loophole created by Osterweil by requiring an investigation of the mental illness records of a foreign state where the applicant is domiciled in a foreign state. In order to permit such an investigation, the measure requires such an applicant to execute a waiver of confidentiality in such form as may be required by their foreign home state.
Prior legislative history
2015: A07463 (Kavanagh): Passed Assembly
2016: A07463 (Kavanagh): Passed Assembly
Fiscal implications
Minimal.
Effective date
This measure shall take effect 90 days after becoming law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.