§ 228. National instant criminal background checks. 1. (a) The
division is hereby authorized and directed to serve as a state point of
contact for implementation of 18 U.S.C. sec. 922 (t), all federal
regulations and applicable guidelines adopted pursuant thereto, and the
national instant criminal background check system for the purchase of
firearms and ammunition.

(b) Upon receiving a request from a licensed dealer pursuant to
section eight hundred ninety-six or eight hundred ninety-eight of the
general business law, the division shall initiate a background check by
(i) contacting the National Instant Criminal Background Check System
(NICS) or its successor to initiate a national instant criminal
background check, and (ii) consulting the statewide firearms license and
records database established pursuant to subdivision three of this
section, in order to determine if the purchaser is a person described in
sections 400.00 and 400.03 of the penal law, or is prohibited by state
or federal law from possessing, receiving, owning, or purchasing a
firearm or ammunition.

2. (a) The division shall report the name, date of birth and physical
description of any person prohibited from possessing a firearm pursuant
to 18 U.S.C. sec. 922(g) or (n) to the national instant criminal
background check system index, denied persons files.

(b) Information provided pursuant to this section shall remain
privileged and confidential, and shall not be disclosed, except for the
purpose of enforcing federal or state law regarding the purchase of
firearms or ammunition.

(c) Any background check conducted by the division, or delegated
authority, of any applicant for a permit, firearms identification card
license, ammunition sale, or registration, in accordance with the
requirements of section 400.00 of the penal law, shall not be considered
a public record and shall not be disclosed to any person not authorized
by law or this chapter to have access to such background check,
including the applicant. Any application for a permit, firearms
identification card, ammunition sale, or license, and any document
reflecting the issuance or denial of such permit, firearms
identification card, or license, and any permit, firearms identification
card, license, certification, certificate, form of register, or
registration statement, maintained by any state or municipal
governmental agency, shall not be considered a public record and shall
not be disclosed to any person not authorized by law to have access to
such documentation, including the applicant, except on the request of
persons acting in their governmental capacities for purposes of the
administration of justice.

3. The division shall create and maintain a statewide firearms license
and records database which shall contain records held by the division
and any records that it is authorized to request from the division of
criminal justice services, office of court administration, New York
state department of health, New York state office of mental health, and
other local entities. Such database shall be used for the certification
and recertification of firearm permits under section 400.02 of the penal
law, assault weapon registration under subdivision sixteen-a of section
400.00 of the penal law, and ammunition sales under section 400.03 of
the penal law. Such database shall also be used to initiate a national
instant criminal background check pursuant to subdivision one of this
section upon request from a licensed dealer. The division may create and
maintain additional databases as needed to complete background checks
pursuant to the requirements of this section.

4. The superintendent shall promulgate a plan to coordinate background
checks for firearm and ammunition purchases pursuant to this section and
to require any person, firm or corporation that sells, delivers or
otherwise transfers any firearm or ammunition to submit a request to the
division in order to complete the background checks in compliance with
federal and state law, including the National Instant Criminal
Background Check System (NICS), in New York state. Such plan shall
include, but shall not be limited to, the following features:

(a) The creation of a centralized bureau within the division to
receive and process all background check requests, which shall include a
contact center unit and an appeals unit. Staff may include but is not
limited to: bureau chief, supervisors, managers, different levels of
administrative analysts, appeals specialists and administrative
personnel. The division shall employ and train such personnel to
administer the provisions of this section.

(b) Procedures for carrying out the duties under this section,
including hours of operation.

(c) An automated phone system and web-based application system,
including a toll-free telephone number and/or web-based application
option for any licensed dealer requesting a background check in order to
sell, deliver or otherwise transfer a firearm which shall be operational
every day that the bureau is open for business for the purpose of
responding to requests in accordance with this section.

5. (a) Each licensed dealer that submits a request for a national
instant criminal background check pursuant to this section shall pay a
fee imposed by the bureau for performing such background check. Such fee
shall be allocated to the background check fund established pursuant to
section ninety-nine-pp of the state finance law. The amount of the fee
shall not exceed the total amount of direct and indirect costs incurred
by the bureau in performing such background check.

(b) The bureau shall transmit all moneys collected pursuant to this
paragraph to the state comptroller, who shall credit the same to the
background check fund.

6. On January fifteenth of each calendar year, the bureau shall submit
a report to the governor, the temporary president of the senate, and the
speaker of the assembly concerning:

a. the number of employees used by the bureau in the preceding year
for the purpose of performing background checks pursuant to this
section;

b. the number of background check requests received and processed
during the preceding calendar year, including the number of "proceed"
responses and the number and reasons for denials;

c. the calculations used to determine the amount of the fee imposed
pursuant to this paragraph.

7. Within sixty days of the effective date of this section, the
superintendent shall notify each licensed dealer holding a permit to
sell firearms of the requirement to submit a request to the division to
initiate a background check pursuant to this section as well as the
following means to be used to apply for background checks:

i. any person, firm or corporation that sells, delivers or otherwise
transfers firearms shall obtain a completed ATF 4473 form from the
potential buyer or transferee including name, date of birth, gender,
race, social security number, or other identification numbers of such
potential buyer or transferee and shall have inspected proper
identification including an identification containing a photograph of
the potential buyer or transferee.

ii. it shall be unlawful for any person, in connection with the sale,
acquisition or attempted acquisition of a firearm from any transferor,
to willfully make any false, fictitious oral or written statement or to
furnish or exhibit any false, fictitious, or misrepresented
identification that is intended or likely to deceive such transferor
with respect to any fact material to the lawfulness of the sale or other
disposition of such firearm under federal or state law. Any person who
violates the provisions of this subparagraph shall be guilty of a class
A misdemeanor.

8. Any potential buyer or transferee shall have thirty days to appeal
the denial of a background check, using a form established by the
superintendent. Upon receipt of an appeal, the division shall provide
such applicant a reason for a denial within thirty days. Upon receipt of
the reason for denial, the appellant may appeal to the attorney general.