NY State Senate Bill 2025-S1455

Senate Bill S1455

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Requires the division of criminal justice services to certify the technological viability of personalized handguns and to establish requirements related to the sale of personalized handguns

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes 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

Please enter your contact information

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

A valid email address is required.

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.

Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 10, 2025	referred to codes

2025-S1455 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A1191
Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Executive Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §835, add §837-y, Exec L
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: S7802, A8333

2025-S1455 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Enacts the "safer weapons, safer homes act"; requires the division of criminal justice services to certify the technological viability of personalized handguns and to establish requirements related to the sale of personalized handguns; defines personalized handgun; requires the division to establish and maintain a roster of all personalized handguns approved for retail sale to the public

2025-S1455 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S1455

SPONSOR: KAVANAGH
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the executive law, in relation to defining personalized
handguns and requiring the division of criminal justice services to
certify the technological viability of personalized handguns and to
establish requirements related to the sale of personalized handguns

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

Amend the executive law to both define and establish requirements for
personalized handguns.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one of the bill sets forth that this act shall be known and may
be cited as the "safer weapons, safer homes act".

Section two of the bill amends section 835 of the executive law to
define a personalized handgun and authorized user.

Section three of the bill amends the executive law by adding a new
section 837-y that would require the division of criminal justice to
engage in an investigation to certify the technological viability of
personalized handguns. The division shall establish performance stand-
ards and testing protocols for personalized handguns. This section also
requires the division to maintain a roster of all personalized handguns
approved for retail sale. This roster shall be made available to regis-
tered and licensed firearms dealers in the state at least every six
months. Additionally, the amendment requires each licensed firearms
retailer to have on its premises at least one personalized handgun
available for sale within two years from the date of certification of
the technology's viability, except in cases where such a requirement
would impose a significant financial burden.

Section four of the bill sets forth the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

User-authenticated or personalized handguns have the potential to stem
violence and ensure the safety of New Yorkers. Violence from accidental
gun discharge causes incredible harm with more than 300 children unin-
tentionally shooting themselves or someone else each year. In 2020, this
resulted in the deaths of over 120 people.  Personalized handguns would
stop children from being able to shoot guns that are left out or improp-
erly stored. This would help prevent school shootings as well, as most
shootings have followed the shooter taking the weapon from their or a
neighbor's home. Moreover, approximately 380,000 guns are stolen from
owners each year.  Personalized handguns would prevent those weapons
from being used in other crimes or against their owners.

This bill creates a sensible regulatory environment to review the safety
of these weapons and provide gun owners with a more secure choice. The
past decade has seen significant progress in the technology of these
weapons; this bill will allow New York to take advantage of these new
safeguards as they arrive.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2024: S7802A (Kavanagh) - REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE /A8333A
(Bores) passed assembly

2023: S7802A (Kavanagh) - REFERRED TO RULES /A8333A (Bores) - referred
to codes

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Minimal.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2025-S1455 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1455
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 10, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. KAVANAGH -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
 
 AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to defining  personalized
   handguns  and  requiring  the division of criminal justice services to
   certify the technological viability of personalized  handguns  and  to
   establish requirements related to the sale of personalized handguns
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as  the  "safer
 weapons, safer homes act".
   §  2.  Section  835  of the executive law is amended by adding two new
 subdivisions 12 and 13 to read as follows:
   12. "PERSONALIZED HANDGUN" MEANS A PISTOL OR REVOLVER  WHICH  INCORPO-
 RATES  WITHIN ITS DESIGN A PERMANENT PROGRAMMABLE FEATURE AS PART OF ITS
 MANUFACTURE THAT CANNOT BE  DEACTIVATED  AND  RENDERS  THE  PERSONALIZED
 HANDGUN REASONABLY RESISTANT TO BEING FIRED EXCEPT WHEN ACTIVATED BY THE
 LAWFUL  OWNER  OR  OTHER USER AUTHORIZED BY THE LAWFUL OWNER. NO MAKE OR
 MODEL OF A PISTOL OR REVOLVER SHALL BE  DEEMED  TO  BE  A  "PERSONALIZED
 HANDGUN" UNLESS THE DIVISION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES HAS DETERMINED
 THE  PERSONALIZED  HANDGUN  MEETS  THE STANDARDS ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO
 SECTION EIGHT HUNDRED THIRTY-SEVEN-Y OF THIS ARTICLE.
   13. "AUTHORIZED USER" MEANS THE OWNER OF A PERSONALIZED HANDGUN  OR  A
 PERSON  TO  WHOM  SUCH  OWNER  HAS GIVEN CONSENT TO USE THE PERSONALIZED
 HANDGUN.
   § 3. The executive law is amended by adding a  new  section  837-y  to
 read as follows:
   §  837-Y.  PERSONALIZED HANDGUNS; TECHNOLOGICAL VIABILITY AND REQUIRE-
 MENTS. 1. AS USED IN THIS SECTION, THE TERMS "PERSONALIZED HANDGUN"  AND
 "AUTHORIZED  USER"  SHALL  HAVE THE SAME MEANINGS AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVI-
 SIONS TWELVE AND THIRTEEN, RESPECTIVELY, OF SECTION EIGHT HUNDRED  THIR-
 TY-FIVE OF THIS ARTICLE.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02280-01-5

 S. 1455                             2
 
   2.  THE DIVISION OR A DESIGNEE SHALL WITHIN ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY DAYS OF
 THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION:
   (A)  ENGAGE IN AND COMPLETE AN INVESTIGATION TO CERTIFY THE TECHNOLOG-
 ICAL VIABILITY OF PERSONALIZED HANDGUNS; AND
   (B) CERTIFY OR DECLINE TO CERTIFY THAT PERSONALIZED HANDGUNS ARE TECH-
 NOLOGICALLY VIABLE.
   3. FOLLOWING A CERTIFICATION  BY  THE  DIVISION  OR  A  DESIGNEE  THAT
 PERSONALIZED HANDGUNS ARE TECHNOLOGICALLY VIABLE, THE DIVISION SHALL:
   (A)  WITHIN  THREE  HUNDRED  SIXTY-FIVE  DAYS FROM THE DATE OF CERTIF-
 ICATION OF THE VIABILITY OF SUCH TECHNOLOGY BY THE DIVISION OR A  DESIG-
 NEE  PURSUANT  TO SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS SECTION, ESTABLISH PERFORMANCE
 STANDARDS, QUALIFYING CRITERIA AND TESTING PROTOCOLS APPLICABLE  TO  THE
 EXAMINATION AND VERIFICATION OF PERSONALIZED HANDGUNS.
   (B)  WITHIN  TWO YEARS FROM THE DATE OF CERTIFICATION OF THE VIABILITY
 OF SUCH TECHNOLOGY BY THE DIVISION OR A DESIGNEE PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION
 TWO OF THIS SECTION, ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN A ROSTER OF ALL PERSONALIZED
 HANDGUNS APPROVED FOR RETAIL SALES TO THE PUBLIC. SUCH ROSTER  SHALL  BE
 PUBLISHED  ON THE DIVISION'S WEBSITE AND SHALL BE UPDATED AT LEAST EVERY
 SIX MONTHS. A COPY OF SUCH ROSTER SHALL BE MADE AVAILABLE TO  REGISTERED
 AND LICENSED FIREARMS DEALERS IN THE STATE AT LEAST EVERY SIX MONTHS.
   4.  THE  DIVISION SHALL REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE ON THE TECHNOLOGICAL
 VIABILITY OF PERSONALIZED HANDGUNS.  THE DIVISION SHALL REPORT ANY FIND-
 INGS TO THE LEGISLATURE OF ANY PERSONALIZED HANDGUN THAT IS  NOT  VIABLE
 AND IS UNABLE TO BE CERTIFIED.
   5.  THE  DIVISION  SHALL  PROMULGATE  ANY RULE OR REGULATION AS MAY BE
 NECESSARY TO CARRY OUT THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.