NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A7921
SPONSOR: Magnarelli
 
TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the penal law, in relation to
possession of firearms on property owned by or held in trust for SUNY
ESF
 
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this bill is to restore hunting rights and the use of
firearms on certain SUNY ESF property.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends Section 265.01a of the Penal Law pertaining to criminal
possession of a weapon on school grounds. The bill adds the language
"held in trust" when describing exemptions under this provision of the
law.
Section 2 establishes the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
In the fall of 2013, SUNY ESF announced that it would ban hunting on
5,300 acres of its property in the North Country. This land had been
regularly used by SUNY ESF's students and faculty for research as well
as utilized as a popular location for small and big game hunters.
SUNY ESF's announcement was due to the firearm possession changes that
were created under the NY SAFE Act. Under the SAFE Act, penalties were
added for possessing a rifle, shotgun or firearm in or upon a building
or grounds, used for educational purposes. While the law provided an
exemption for land owned by SUNY ESF, it did not contain an exemption
for property that is held in trust for SUNY ESF which includes 5,300
acres in the Adirondacks. Without mention of "land held in trust," under
the law, an individual who possesses a shotgun, rifle or firearm on
these premises in the Adirondacks could face a Class E Felony. As a
result, SUNY ESF made the decision to announce the hunting ban for its
Adirondack properties to prevent the potential for hunters and outdoor
sports enthusiasts to be charged with felony under the SAFE Act.
This legislation makes the technical changes in existing law to once
again open up these areas for hunting of big and small game.
Additionally, SUNY ESF researchers use firearms to conduct forest
research. They use shotguns to safely collect tree samples from the tops
of tree canopies. This method has been employed at ESF properties like
Huntington Forest for over 25 years without a single reported incident
of injury or unauthorized firearm use, thanks to several precautionary
measures taken by field researchers and property managers. Among many
other uses, data provided from canopy leaf sampling at Huntington Forest
has been instrumental in measuring and monitoring the negative impacts
of acid rain pollution on forest resources in places like the Adiron-
dacks, as mandated by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2017-18: 5.3716 PASSED SENATE/A.4482 Ref to Codes
2015-16: 5.6318 Ref to Codes/A.1126 Ref to Codes
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
30 days after enactment.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7921
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 28, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. MAGNARELLI -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to possession of firearms on
property owned by or held in trust for SUNY ESF
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 265.01-a of the penal law, as added by chapter 1 of
2 the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 265.01-a[.] Criminal possession of a weapon on school grounds.
4 A person is guilty of criminal possession of a weapon on school
5 grounds when he or she knowingly has in his or her possession a rifle,
6 shotgun, or firearm in or upon a building or grounds, used for educa-
7 tional purposes, of any school, college, or university, except the
8 forestry lands, wherever located, owned [and], maintained [by] or held
9 in trust for the benefit of the New York State College of Forestry at
10 Syracuse University, now known as the State University of New York
11 college of environmental science and forestry, or upon a school bus as
12 defined in section one hundred forty-two of the vehicle and traffic law,
13 without the written authorization of such educational institution.
14 Criminal possession of a weapon on school grounds is a class E felony.
15 § 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
16 have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11964-01-9