S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5355
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 8, 2017
                                ___________
 
 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
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD05965-01-7

 A. 5355                             2
 
 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  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.
   §  2.  Section  400.02  of the penal law, as added by chapter 1 of the
 laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
 § 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

 A. 5355                             3
 
 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
 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.
   §  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.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.