NY State Senate Bill 2019-S5961

Senate Bill S5961

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Relates to the exchange or transfer of firearms, rifles and shotguns pursuant to a decedent's will and/or probate order

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Consumer Protection Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2020	referred to consumer protection returned to senate died in assembly
Jun 20, 2019	referred to codes delivered to assembly passed senate ordered to third reading cal.1826 committee discharged and committed to rules
May 16, 2019	referred to consumer protection

Votes

- Jun 20, 2019 - Floor Vote
  S5961
  
  62
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Floor Vote: Jun 20, 2019
      
      aye (62)
      
      Addabbo Jr.
      
      Akshar
      
      Amedore
      
      Antonacci
      
      Bailey
      
      Benjamin
      
      Biaggi
      
      Boyle
      
      Breslin
      
      Brooks
      
      Carlucci
      
      Comrie
      
      Felder
      
      Flanagan
      
      Funke
      
      Gallivan
      
      Gaughran
      
      Gianaris
      
      Gounardes
      
      Griffo
      
      Harckham
      
      Helming
      
      Hoylman-Sigal
      
      Jackson
      
      Jacobs
      
      Jordan
      
      Kaminsky
      
      Kaplan
      
      Kavanagh
      
      Kennedy
      
      Krueger
      
      LaValle
      
      Lanza
      
      Little
      
      Liu
      
      Martinez
      
      May
      
      Mayer
      
      Metzger
      
      Montgomery
      
      Myrie
      
      O'Mara
      
      Ortt
      
      Parker
      
      Persaud
      
      Ramos
      
      Ranzenhofer
      
      Ritchie
      
      Rivera
      
      Robach
      
      Salazar
      
      Sanders Jr.
      
      Savino
      
      Sepúlveda
      
      Serino
      
      Serrano
      
      Seward
      
      Skoufis
      
      Stavisky
      
      Stewart-Cousins
      
      Tedisco
      
      Thomas
  Jun 20, 2019 - Rules Committee Vote
  S5961
  
  18
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  1
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Rules Committee Vote: Jun 20, 2019
      
      aye (18)
      
      Benjamin
      
      Breslin
      
      Comrie
      
      Flanagan
      
      Gianaris
      
      Hoylman-Sigal
      
      Kennedy
      
      Krueger
      
      LaValle
      
      Lanza
      
      Little
      
      Liu
      
      Martinez
      
      Parker
      
      Robach
      
      Savino
      
      Seward
      
      Stewart-Cousins
      
      aye wr (1)
      
      Griffo

2019-S5961 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Consumer Protection
Law Section:: General Business Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §898, Gen Bus L; amd §265.00, Pen L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: S5872
2023-2024: S5443

2019-S5961 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Authorizes the exchange or transfer of firearms, rifles and shotguns pursuant to a decedent's will and/or probate order; prohibits transfers of large capacity ammunition feeding devices.

2019-S5961 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S5961

SPONSOR: SAVINO
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the general business law and the penal
law, in relation to the exchange or transfer of firearms, rifles and
shotguns pursuant to a decedent's will and/or probate order

 
PURPOSE:

To allow the lawful exchange or transfer of firearms to qualified indi-
viduals who are designated beneficiaries pursuant to will and/or probate
order.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

§ 1, expands the definition of person's qualified to take receipt and
possession of firearms pursuant to a will and/or probate order.  This
new provision will allow any individual designated as a beneficiary by a
valid will and/or probate order and is qualified to possess a firearm
under the act as provided under Section 1, Subdivision 1 of section 898
of the general business law, as added by chapter 1 of the laws of 2013.

§ 2, allows for the permissible sale , exchange or disposal of any weap-
on defined in paragraph (e) or (f) of paragraph (h) of subdivision 22 of
section 265.00 of the penal law, as added by chapter 1 of the laws of
2013, to an individual that was previously qualified to legally possess
the weapon including the transferor's immediate family, who resides
within or without the state of New York and shall include transfers made
pursuant to a decedent's will and/or probate order.

 
EXISTING LAW:

General business law, Section 1, Subdivision 1 and penal law allows for
the transfer or exchange of firearms to "immediate family" members or
those persons holding federal firearms licenses.

Penal law section 265.00, para. (h) of subdivision 22, allows for the
sale, transfer or disposal of weapons to qualified individuals or enti-
ties outside of the state.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

This act expands the definition of those individuals allowed to trans-
fer, sell or dispose of firearms to not only immediate family members,
but also individuals qualified to possess firearms pursuant to New York
law if they are identified as beneficiaries pursuant to will and/or
probate order. This limited expansion of the definition of qualified
individuals will allow for the expeditious transfer of estate property
that is firearms to qualified individuals pursuant to the testamentary
wishes of decedents.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2019 Session - new bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately

2019-S5961 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5961
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 16, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  SAVINO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer Protection
 
 AN ACT to amend the general business law and the penal law, in  relation
   to  the exchange or transfer of firearms, rifles and shotguns pursuant
   to a decedent's will and/or probate order

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivision 1 of section 898 of the general business law,
 as added by chapter 1 of the  laws  of  2013,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   1.  In addition to any other requirements pursuant to state and feder-
 al  law,  all sales, exchanges or disposals of firearms, rifles or shot-
 guns shall be conducted in accordance  with  this  section  unless  such
 sale, exchange or disposal is conducted by a licensed importer, licensed
 manufacturer  or licensed dealer, as those terms are defined in 18 USC §
 922, when such sale, exchange or disposal is conducted pursuant to  that
 person's  federal firearms license or such sale, exchange or disposal is
 between members of an immediate family OR SUCH EXCHANGE OR  TRANSFER  IS
 PURSUANT  TO  DECEDENT'S  WILL  AND/OR  PROBATE  ORDER,  DIRECTING  SUCH
 EXCHANGE OR TRANSFER TO A PERSON WHO QUALIFIES UNDER THIS  SECTION.  For
 purposes  of this section, "immediate family" shall mean spouses, domes-
 tic partners, children and step-children.
   § 2. Paragraph (h) of subdivision 22 of section 265.00  of  the  penal
 law,  as  added  by chapter 1 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as
 follows:
   (h) Any weapon defined in paragraph (e) or (f) of this subdivision and
 any large capacity ammunition feeding device that was legally  possessed
 by  an  individual  prior to the enactment of the chapter of the laws of
 two thousand thirteen which added this paragraph, may only be  sold  to,
 exchanged  with or disposed of to a purchaser authorized to possess such
 weapons or to an individual or entity outside of the state provided that

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

                                                            LBD10525-01-9

 S. 5961                             2
 
 any such transfer to an individual or entity outside of the  state  must
 be reported to the entity wherein the weapon is registered within seven-
 ty-two  hours  of  such  transfer.  SUCH  PERMISSIBLE  SALE, EXCHANGE OR
 DISPOSAL  OF ANY WEAPON DEFINED IN PARAGRAPH (E) OR (F) OF THIS SUBDIVI-
 SION THAT WAS LEGALLY POSSESSED BY AN INDIVIDUAL PRIOR TO THE  ENACTMENT
 OF  CHAPTER  ONE  OF  THE LAWS OF TWO THOUSAND THIRTEEN WHICH ADDED THIS
 PARAGRAPH SHALL ALSO INCLUDE A  MEMBER  OF  THE  TRANSFEROR'S  IMMEDIATE
 FAMILY,  WHO RESIDES EITHER WITHIN OR OUTSIDE THE STATE OF NEW YORK, AND
 SHALL INCLUDE TRANSFERS  MADE  PURSUANT  TO  A  DECEDENT'S  WILL  AND/OR
 PROBATE ORDER, DIRECTING SUCH EXCHANGE OR TRANSFER TO A PERSON WHO QUAL-
 IFIES  UNDER THIS SECTION, WHETHER THAT PERSON RESIDES INSIDE OR OUTSIDE
 THE STATE OF NEW YORK. SUCH PERMISSIBLE SALE, EXCHANGE  OR  DISPOSAL  OF
 ANY  WEAPON  DEFINED  IN PARAGRAPH (E) OR (F) OF THIS SUBDIVISION, TO AN
 IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER AS DEFINED IN SECTION EIGHT HUNDRED NINETY-EIGHT
 OF THE GENERAL BUSINESS LAW, AND SUCH PERMISSIBLE TRANSFERS MADE  PURSU-
 ANT  TO  A DECEDENT'S WILL AND/OR PROBATE ORDER, DIRECTING SUCH EXCHANGE
 OR TRANSFER TO A PERSON WHO QUALIFIES  UNDER  THIS  SECTION,  SHALL  NOT
 INCLUDE  TRANSFERS  OF  LARGE CAPACITY AMMUNITION FEEDING DEVICES AS THE
 EXPRESSION, 'LARGE CAPACITY AMMUNITION FEEDING  DEVICE'  IS  DEFINED  IN
 SUBDIVISION  TWENTY-THREE  OF  THIS SECTION. An individual who transfers
 any such weapon or large capacity ammunition  device  to  an  individual
 inside  New  York state or without complying with the provisions of this
 paragraph shall be guilty of a class A  misdemeanor  unless  such  large
 capacity  ammunition  feeding  device,  the  possession of which is made
 illegal by the chapter of the laws of two thousand thirteen which  added
 this  paragraph, is transferred within one year of the effective date of
 the chapter of the laws of two thousand thirteen which added this  para-
 graph.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

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