STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1657 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 13, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sen. ORTT -- 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 qualified firearms instructors The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 19 of section 265.00 of the penal law, as 2 amended by chapter 150 of the laws of 2020, is amended to read as 3 follows: 4 19. "Duly authorized instructor" means (a) a duly commissioned officer 5 of the United States army, navy, marine corps or coast guard, or of the 6 national guard of the state of New York; or (b) a duly qualified adult 7 citizen of the United States who has been granted a certificate as an 8 instructor in small arms practice issued by the United States army, navy 9 or marine corps, or by the adjutant general of this state, or by the 10 national rifle association of America, a not-for-profit corporation duly 11 organized under the laws of this state; (c) by a person duly qualified 12 and designated by the department of environmental conservation under 13 paragraph c of subdivision three of section 11-0713 of the environmental 14 conservation law as its agent in the giving of instruction and the 15 making of certifications of qualification in responsible hunting prac- 16 tices; [or] (d) a New York state 4-H certified shooting sports instruc- 17 tor; or (e) a qualified firearms instructor. 18 § 1-a. Subdivision 19 of section 265.00 of the penal law, as amended 19 by chapter 371 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows: 20 19. "Duly authorized instructor" means (a) a duly commissioned officer 21 of the United States army, navy, marine corps or coast guard, or of the 22 national guard of the state of New York; or (b) a duly qualified adult 23 citizen of the United States who has been granted a certificate as an 24 instructor in small arms practice issued by the United States army, navy 25 or marine corps, or by the adjutant general of this state, or by the EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD05698-01-3

S. 1657 2 1 division of criminal justice services, or by the national rifle associ- 2 ation of America, a not-for-profit corporation duly organized under the 3 laws of this state; (c) by a person duly qualified and designated by the 4 department of environmental conservation as its agent in the giving of 5 instruction and the making of certifications of qualification in respon- 6 sible hunting practices; [or] (d) a New York state 4-H certified shoot- 7 ing sports instructor; or (e) a qualified firearms instructor. 8 § 2. Section 265.00 of the penal law is amended by adding a new subdi- 9 vision 36 to read as follows: 10 36. "Qualified firearms instructor" means an individual who holds a 11 certificate as a firearms instructor from an association or organization 12 recognized by the division of criminal justice services. 13 § 3. Paragraph 7-b of subdivision a of section 265.20 of the penal 14 law, as amended by chapter 511 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read 15 as follows: 16 7-b. Possession and use, at an indoor or outdoor pistol range located 17 in or on premises owned or occupied by a duly incorporated organization 18 organized for conservation purposes or to foster proficiency in small 19 arms or at a target pistol shooting competition under the auspices of or 20 approved by the national rifle association for the purpose of loading 21 and firing the same, by a person who has applied for a license to 22 possess a pistol or revolver and pre-license possession of same pursuant 23 to section 400.00 or 400.01 of this chapter, who has not been previously 24 denied a license, been previously convicted of a felony or serious 25 offense, and who does not appear to be, or pose a threat to be, a danger 26 to himself or to others, and who has been approved for possession and 27 use herein in accordance with section 400.00 or 400.01 of this chapter; 28 provided however, that such possession shall be of a pistol or revolver 29 duly licensed to and shall be used under the supervision, guidance and 30 instruction of, a person specified in paragraph seven of this subdivi- 31 sion, or a qualified firearms instructor, and provided further that such 32 possession and use be within the jurisdiction of the licensing officer 33 with whom the person has made application therefor or within the juris- 34 diction of the superintendent of state police in the case of a retired 35 sworn member of the division of state police who has opted to make an 36 application pursuant to section 400.01 of this chapter. 37 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the amend- 38 ments to subdivision 19 of section 265.00 of the penal law made by 39 section one-a of this act shall take effect on the same date and in the 40 same manner as chapter 371 of the laws of 2022, takes effect.

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