Relates to requiring social media and search engine reviews prior to the approval of an application or renewal of a license to carry or possess a pistol or revolver; requires a person applying for a license to carry or possess a pistol or revolver or a renewal of such license to consent to having his or her social media accounts and search engine history reviewed and investigated for certain posts and/or searches over a period of 1-3 years prior to the approval of such application or renewal; defines terms.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9191
IN SENATE
November 14, 2018
___________
Introduced by Sen. PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to requiring social media and
search engine reviews prior to the approval of an application or
renewal of a license to carry or possess a pistol or revolver
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 3, subdivision 4, and para-
2 graph (b) of subdivision 10 of section 400.00 of the penal law, para-
3 graph (a) of subdivision 3 and subdivision 4 as amended and paragraph
4 (b) of subdivision 10 as added by chapter 1 of the laws of 2013, are
5 amended to read as follows:
6 (a) Applications shall be made and renewed, in the case of a license
7 to carry or possess a pistol or revolver, to the licensing officer in
8 the city or county, as the case may be, where the applicant resides, is
9 principally employed or has his or her principal place of business as
10 merchant or storekeeper; and, in the case of a license as gunsmith or
11 dealer in firearms, to the licensing officer where such place of busi-
12 ness is located. Blank applications shall, except in the city of New
13 York, be approved as to form by the superintendent of state police. An
14 application shall state the full name, date of birth, residence, present
15 occupation of each person or individual signing the same, whether or not
16 he or she is a citizen of the United States, whether or not he or she
17 complies with each requirement for eligibility specified in subdivision
18 one of this section, consent to have his or her social media accounts
19 and search engine history reviewed and investigated pursuant to subdivi-
20 sion four of this section, and such other facts as may be required to
21 show the good character, competency and integrity of each person or
22 individual signing the application. An application shall be signed and
23 verified by the applicant. Each individual signing an application shall
24 submit one photograph of himself or herself and a duplicate for each
25 required copy of the application. Such photographs shall have been taken
26 within thirty days prior to filing the application. In case of a license
27 as gunsmith or dealer in firearms, the photographs submitted shall be
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD16703-01-8
S. 9191 2
1 two inches square, and the application shall also state the previous
2 occupation of each individual signing the same and the location of the
3 place of such business, or of the bureau, agency, subagency, office or
4 branch office for which the license is sought, specifying the name of
5 the city, town or village, indicating the street and number and other-
6 wise giving such apt description as to point out reasonably the location
7 thereof. In such case, if the applicant is a firm, partnership or corpo-
8 ration, its name, date and place of formation, and principal place of
9 business shall be stated. For such firm or partnership, the application
10 shall be signed and verified by each individual composing or intending
11 to compose the same, and for such corporation, by each officer thereof.
12 4. Investigation. Before a license is issued or renewed, there shall
13 be an investigation of all statements required in the application by the
14 duly constituted police authorities of the locality where such applica-
15 tion is made, including but not limited to such records as may be acces-
16 sible to the division of state police or division of criminal justice
17 services pursuant to section 400.02 of this article. For that purpose,
18 the records of the appropriate office of the department of mental
19 hygiene concerning previous or present mental illness of the applicant
20 shall be available for inspection by the investigating officer of the
21 police authority. In order to ascertain any previous criminal record,
22 the investigating officer shall take the fingerprints and physical
23 descriptive data in quadruplicate of each individual by whom the appli-
24 cation is signed and verified. Two copies of such fingerprints shall be
25 taken on standard fingerprint cards eight inches square, and one copy
26 may be taken on a card supplied for that purpose by the federal bureau
27 of investigation; provided, however, that in the case of a corporate
28 applicant that has already been issued a dealer in firearms license and
29 seeks to operate a firearm dealership at a second or subsequent
30 location, the original fingerprints on file may be used to ascertain any
31 criminal record in the second or subsequent application unless any of
32 the corporate officers have changed since the prior application, in
33 which case the new corporate officer shall comply with procedures
34 governing an initial application for such license. When completed, one
35 standard card shall be forwarded to and retained by the division of
36 criminal justice services in the executive department, at Albany. A
37 search of the files of such division and written notification of the
38 results of the search to the investigating officer shall be made without
39 unnecessary delay. Thereafter, such division shall notify the licensing
40 officer and the executive department, division of state police, Albany,
41 of any criminal record of the applicant filed therein subsequent to the
42 search of its files. A second standard card, or the one supplied by the
43 federal bureau of investigation, as the case may be, shall be forwarded
44 to that bureau at Washington with a request that the files of the bureau
45 be searched and notification of the results of the search be made to the
46 investigating police authority. Of the remaining two fingerprint cards,
47 one shall be filed with the executive department, division of state
48 police, Albany, within ten days after issuance of the license, and the
49 other remain on file with the investigating police authority. No such
50 fingerprints may be inspected by any person other than a peace officer,
51 who is acting pursuant to his special duties, or a police officer,
52 except on order of a judge or justice of a court of record either upon
53 notice to the licensee or without notice, as the judge or justice may
54 deem appropriate. In order to ascertain whether any social media
55 account or search engine history of an applicant presents any good cause
56 for the denial of a license, the investigating officer shall, after
S. 9191 3
1 obtaining the applicant's consent pursuant to subdivision three of this
2 section, and obtaining any log-in name, password or other means for
3 accessing a personal account, service, or electronic communications
4 device necessary to review such applicant's social media accounts and
5 search engine history, review an applicant's social media accounts for
6 the previous three years and search engine history for the previous year
7 and investigate an applicant's posts or searches related to (i) commonly
8 known profane slurs or biased language used to describe the race, color,
9 national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age,
10 disability or sexual orientation of a person; (ii) threatening the
11 health or safety of another person; (iii) an act of terrorism; or (iv)
12 any other issue deemed necessary by the investigating officer. For the
13 purposes of this subdivision, "social media accounts" shall only include
14 Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram, and "search engine" shall
15 only include Google, Yahoo and Bing. Upon completion of the investi-
16 gation, the police authority shall report the results to the licensing
17 officer without unnecessary delay.
18 (b) All licensees shall be recertified to the division of state police
19 every five years thereafter. Any license issued before the effective
20 date of [the] chapter one of the laws of two thousand thirteen [which
21 added this paragraph] shall be recertified by the licensee on or before
22 January thirty-first, two thousand eighteen, and not less than one year
23 prior to such date, the state police shall send a notice to all license
24 holders who have not recertified by such time. Such recertification
25 shall be in a form as approved by the superintendent of state police,
26 which shall request the license holder's name, date of birth, gender,
27 race, residential address, social security number, consent to have his
28 or her social media accounts and search engine history reviewed and
29 investigated, firearms possessed by such license holder, email address
30 at the option of the license holder and an affirmation that such license
31 holder is not prohibited from possessing firearms. The form may be in an
32 electronic form if so designated by the superintendent of state police.
33 Failure to recertify shall act as a revocation of such license. If the
34 New York state police discover as a result of the recertification proc-
35 ess that a licensee failed to provide a change of address, the New York
36 state police shall not require the licensing officer to revoke such
37 license. In order to ascertain whether any social media account or
38 search engine history of a licensee presents any good cause for the
39 revocation of a license, the New York state police shall, after obtain-
40 ing the licensee's consent pursuant to this subdivision, and obtaining
41 any log-in name, password or other means for accessing a personal
42 account, service, or electronic communications device necessary to
43 review such licensee's social media accounts and search engine history,
44 review a licensee's social media accounts for the previous three years
45 and search engine history for the previous year and investigate posts or
46 searches related to (i) commonly known profane slurs or biased language
47 used to describe the race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender,
48 religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation of a
49 person; (ii) threatening the health or safety of another person; (iii)
50 an act of terrorism; or (iv) any other issue deemed necessary by the New
51 York state police. For the purposes of this subdivision, "social media
52 accounts" shall only include Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram,
53 and "search engine" shall only include Google, Yahoo and Bing. Upon
54 completion of the investigation, the New York state police shall report
55 the results to the licensee without unnecessary delay.
S. 9191 4
1 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
2 have become a law. Effective immediately the addition, amendment and/or
3 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of
4 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
5 on or before such effective date.
