S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  10401

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                              May 25, 2016
                               ___________

Introduced by M. of A. DiPIETRO -- read once and referred to the Commit-
  tee on Codes

AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to prohibiting the release of
  personal  medical  records or information without a warrant or express
  written authorization of the individual

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, 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 applica-
tion is made, including but not limited to such records as may be acces-
sible 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.  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 appli-
cation is signed and verified. Two copies of such fingerprints shall  be
taken  on  standard  fingerprint cards eight 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

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                           LBD02102-01-5

A. 10401                            2

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  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.    NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW TO THE
CONTRARY NEITHER THE STATE POLICE,  THE  DIVISION  OF  CRIMINAL  JUSTICE
SERVICES, NOR ANY OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY OR EMPLOYEE THEREOF SHALL
BE PERMITTED TO ACCESS PERSONAL MEDICAL RECORDS AND OTHER MEDICAL INFOR-
MATION  OTHER  THAN RECORDS REQUIRED TO BE PROVIDED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF
MENTAL HYGIENE WITHOUT A PROPERLY ISSUED WARRANT, OR THE  EXPRESS  WRIT-
TEN, NOTARIZED PERMISSION OF THE INDIVIDUAL WHOSE INFORMATION IS SOUGHT.
  S  2.  Section  400.02  of the penal law, as added by chapter 1 of the
laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
S 400.02 Statewide license and record database.
  1. There shall be a statewide license and record database which  shall
be  created  and  maintained by the division of state police the cost of
which shall not be borne  by  any  municipality.  Records  assembled  or
collected  for  purposes  of  inclusion  in  such  database shall not be
subject to disclosure pursuant to article six  of  the  public  officers
law.  Records  containing  granted license applications shall be period-
ically checked by the division  of  criminal  justice  services  against
criminal  conviction, mental health, and all other records as are neces-
sary to determine their continued accuracy as well as whether  an  indi-
vidual  is  no  longer  a valid license holder. The division of criminal
justice services shall also check pending applications made pursuant  to
this  article against such records to determine whether a license may be
granted. All state agencies shall cooperate with the division of  crimi-
nal  justice  services,  as otherwise authorized by law, in making their
records available for such checks.  The  division  of  criminal  justice
services, upon determining that an individual is ineligible to possess a
license, or is no longer a valid license holder, shall notify the appli-
cable  licensing official of such determination and such licensing offi-
cial shall not issue a license or revoke such license  and  any  weapons
owned  or  possessed by such individual shall be removed consistent with
the provisions of subdivision eleven of section 400.00 of this  article.
Local  and  state law enforcement shall have access to such database, as
otherwise authorized by law, in the performance of their duties. Records
assembled or collected for purposes of inclusion in the database  estab-
lished by this section shall be released pursuant to a court order.
  2.  NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW TO THE CONTRARY NEITHER
THE  STATE  POLICE,  THE  DIVISION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES, NOR ANY

A. 10401                            3

OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY OR EMPLOYEE THEREOF SHALL BE  PERMITTED  TO
ACCESS PERSONAL MEDICAL RECORDS AND OTHER MEDICAL INFORMATION OTHER THAN
RECORDS  REQUIRED  TO  BE  PROVIDED  BY THE DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HYGIENE
WITHOUT  A  PROPERLY  ISSUED  WARRANT, OR THE EXPRESS WRITTEN, NOTARIZED
PERMISSION OF THE INDIVIDUAL WHOSE INFORMATION IS SOUGHT.
  S 3. Subdivision 3 of section 400.00 of the penal law  is  amended  by
adding a new paragraph (c) to read as follows:
  (C)  (I)  THE  APPLICATION  FOR A LICENSE TO CARRY, POSSESS, REPAIR OR
DISPOSE OF FIREARMS, OR THE RENEWAL THEREOF, PURSUANT  TO  THIS  SECTION
SHALL  NOT  REQUIRE  THE  APPLICANT  TO  CONSENT TO THE RELEASE OF THEIR
PERSONAL MEDICAL RECORDS  AND  OTHER  MEDICAL  INFORMATION,  OTHER  THAN
RECORDS  REQUIRED TO BE PROVIDED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HYGIENE, AS
A CONDITION OF RECEIVING OR RETAINING SUCH LICENSE UNLESS  THE  INVESTI-
GATING  AGENCY HAS A REASONABLE BELIEF THAT A MEDICAL ISSUE EXISTS WHICH
WOULD JUSTIFY THE DENIAL OF A LICENSE PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION.
  (II) THE STATE POLICE, THE DIVISION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES,  AND
ANY  OTHER  LAW  ENFORCEMENT  AGENCY  OR  EMPLOYEE THEREOF MAY REQUEST A
CONSENT FROM INDIVIDUALS FOR  THE  RELEASE  OF  THEIR  PERSONAL  MEDICAL
RECORDS  OR  OTHER MEDICAL INFORMATION WHERE SUCH LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
HAS A REASONABLE BELIEF THAT A MEDICAL ISSUE EXISTS WHICH WOULD  JUSTIFY
THE  SUSPENSION  OR  REVOCATION  OF  A  LICENSE  ISSUED PURSUANT TO THIS
SECTION.
  S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.