S2488-2011 Actions

• Jun 19, 2012: referred to codes
• Jun 19, 2012: DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
• Jun 19, 2012: PASSED SENATE
• Mar 6, 2012: ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
• Mar 5, 2012: 2ND REPORT CAL.
• Mar 1, 2012: 1ST REPORT CAL.267
• Jan 4, 2012: REFERRED TO CODES
• Jan 4, 2012: returned to senate
• Jan 4, 2012: died in assembly
• Jun 14, 2011: referred to codes
• Jun 14, 2011: DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
• Jun 14, 2011: PASSED SENATE
• May 2, 2011: AMENDED ON THIRD READING 2488B
• Apr 11, 2011: AMENDED ON THIRD READING 2488A
• Mar 31, 2011: ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
• Mar 30, 2011: 2ND REPORT CAL.
• Mar 29, 2011: 1ST REPORT CAL.266
• Jan 24, 2011: REFERRED TO CODES

S2488-2011 Meetings

S2488-2011 Calendars

S2488-2011 Votes

S2488-2011 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S2488

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the penal law, in relation to pistol permit privacy

PURPOSE:
To require that when a person, other than law enforcement, requests a
search of the pistol or revolver automated listing under the Freedom
of Information Law (FOIL) that it is limited to a search by specific
name.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 - Subdivision 5 of Section 400.00 of the Penal Law, as
amended by Chapter 332 of the laws of 1994, is amended to make the
names of any pistol or revolver permit holders confidential except if
a request is made under the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) for a
specific individual by name.
Any requests for the entire list of licensees or for all the licensees
in a geographic area shall be denied except if requested by law
enforcement.

Section 2 - Sets forth an immediate effective date.

EXISTING LAW:
In 1994, Subdivision 5 of Section 400.00 of the Penal Law was amended
by the Legislature to restrict public access to the contents of an
approved application for a firearm license, by permitting disclosure
only of the name and address of the approved applicant.

Before the 1994 amendment, subdivision 5 provided that all information
from an approved firearm permit application shall be deemed as part
of the public record and therefore released upon request under the
Freedom of Information Law (FOIL).

The law was changed in 1994 to address the concerns that providing all
of the information on a pistol or revolver holder's permit
application could release information which would endanger the life
or safety of the applicant and possibly others. Such information
includes whether the permit holder transports large amounts of cash
or other valuables which would give criminals an opportunity and a
ready source of information to commit a crime against such person.

JUSTIFICATION:
A new abuse of the public access to New York State's pistol or
revolver permit registry now exists due to the creation of websites
on the Internet that contain the name and address of every person in
the State of New York who holds a permit for a pistol or revolver.

As in 1994, the last time this law was amended, there are important
personal and public safety reasons to make amendments to the

information available to the public regarding the pistol or revolver
automated listing maintained by the New York State Police.

As the law is currently written, it allows for an individual to make a
FOIL request through the New York State Police or the New York City
Police for the entire database of pistol or revolver holders in the
State and in NYC. In fact, the Director of Public Information for the
New York State Police has stated that numerous requests have been
made in recent years for the entire database and they have had no
choice but to release the information under current law.

Having this information available online and readily accessible to
anyone creates serious safety issues not only for the permit holders
and their family members but also for individuals who do not have
guns in their home.

Criminals now have a roadmap of the homes that have guns and those
that do not. This can be easily utilized to target homes to steal the
pistol or revolver from the person's address that is listed on the
permit. Not only does this possibly put guns in the hands of
dangerous individuals but it also creates the chance of the permit
holder or a family member being harmed during an attempted robbery.

Also disturbing is the fact that having this list available not only
tells criminals where legally owned handguns are located but it also
tells them which homes are not protected by a person with a pistol
permit. This is once again a roadmap for individuals who want to
break into someone's home to either commit a robbery, assault, rape
or other heinous crime without having to worry that their intended
victim possesses any firepower to ward off the attack.

Clearly, this information in the wrong hands creates a risk to not
only the permit holders and their families but also to their
neighbors and the rest of society. The threat of guns being stolen or
individuals being harmed due to the public access of this entire list
is too menacing to allow it to continue.

Therefore, this legislation will limit the ability of a person to
access the NYS or NYC permit or revolver registry by denying requests
for the entire list or database. However, recognizing that some
individuals may have a valid reason for wanting to know if a specific
person has a firearm permit, this legislation still allows for public
access with a FOIL request. Consequently, to rule out the intentional
abuse of the public access and posting of an entire database or
geographic area of permit holders, this bill will only allow a search
of the list with a request for a specifically named individual.

New York is among about one-third of states nationwide that allow the
disclosure of any pistol permit data.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2010:  S.8456 Rules Committee/A.11716 Codes Committee

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

S2488-2011 Text

 S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 
 
                                         2488
 2011-2012 Regular Sessions
 I N  SENATE
 January 24, 2011
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  GRIFFO, RANZENHOFER, DeFRANCISCO, LARKIN, LITTLE,
 ZELDIN -- 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 pistol permit privacy
 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

 

Section 1. Subdivision 5 of  section  400.00  of  the  penal  law,  as
 amended  by  chapter  332  of  the  laws  of 1994, is amended to read as
 follows:

 5. Filing of  approved  applications.  (A)  The  application  for  any
 license,  if  granted,  shall be filed by the licensing officer with the
 clerk of the county of issuance, except that in the  city  of  New  York
 and,  in the counties of Nassau and Suffolk, the licensing officer shall
 designate the place of filing in the  appropriate  division,  bureau  or
 unit  of the police department thereof, and in the county of Suffolk the
 county clerk is hereby authorized to transfer all  records  or  applica
 tions  relating  to  firearms to the licensing authority of that county.
 The name and address of any  person  to  whom  an  application  for  any
 license  has  been  granted  shall be [a public record] CONFIDENTIAL AND
 SHALL NOT BE MADE AVAILABLE EXCEPT AS SET FORTH IN PARAGRAPH (B) OF THIS
 SUBDIVISION.  Upon application by a licensee who has changed  his  place
 of  residence  such  records or applications shall be transferred to the
 appropriate officer at the licensee's new place of residence.  A  dupli
 cate copy of such application shall be filed by the licensing officer in
 the  executive  department, division of state police, Albany, within ten
 days after issuance of the license. Nothing in this subdivision shall be
 construed to change the expiration date or  term  of  such  licenses  if
 otherwise provided for in law.
 (B)  THE  DIVISION OF STATE POLICE SHALL MAINTAIN AN AUTOMATED LISTING
 OF EVERY LICENSE HOLDER ISSUED A LICENSE FOR A PISTOL OR REVOLVER PURSU
 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD05965-01-1
 
       S. 2488                             2
 ANT TO THIS SECTION. SUCH LISTING SHALL BE MADE AVAILABLE, UPON REQUEST,
 PROVIDED, THAT:

 (I)  ONLY  REQUESTS  RELATING  TO A NAMED LICENSEE SHALL BE HONORED OR
 MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE; AND
 (II) A REQUEST FOR THE ENTIRE LIST OF LICENSEES, OR FOR ALL  LICENSEES
 IN  A  GEOGRAPHIC  AREA,  SHALL BE DENIED, EXCEPT TO ANY LAW ENFORCEMENT
 AGENCY.
 FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SUBDIVISION, THE TERM "LAW ENFORCEMENT  AGEN
 CY"  SHALL  MEAN THE DIVISION OF STATE POLICE, ANY NEW YORK STATE COUNTY
 SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT, ANY POLICE DEPARTMENT OF ANY CITY, VILLAGE OR TOWN
 WITHIN NEW YORK STATE, THE POLICE FORCE OF ANY NEW YORK STATE  AUTHORITY
 OR AGENCY, THE STATE POLICE FORCE OF ANY OTHER STATE AND ANY FEDERAL LAW
 ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.
 

S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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