STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3779
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 31, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ORTIZ, BENEDETTO, DINOWITZ, PEOPLES-STOKES,
JAFFEE, MOSLEY, WILLIAMS -- read once and referred to the Committee on
Codes
AN ACT to amend the general business law and the penal law, in relation
to establishing a statewide database to maintain and track coded ammu-
nition and establishing penalties for individuals who violate such
provisions; and to amend the state finance law, in relation to estab-
lishing the ammunition coding system database fund
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative findings. The legislature hereby finds that
2 each year in the United States more than thirty percent of all homicides
3 involving a gun go unsolved. Handgun ammunition accounts for approxi-
4 mately eighty percent of all ammunition sold within the United States.
5 Current technology for matching a bullet used in a crime to the gun that
6 fired it has worked moderately well for years, but presupposes that the
7 weapon was recovered by law enforcement. Ammunition coding is a new and
8 effective way for law enforcement to quickly identify persons of inter-
9 est in gun crime investigations.
10 § 2. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 396-
11 gg to read as follows:
12 § 396-gg. Ammunition coding system database. 1. The division of crimi-
13 nal justice services is responsible for establishing and maintaining an
14 ammunition coding system database containing information from the
15 following:
16 a. The manufacturer registry. (i) Every manufacturer shall register
17 with the division of criminal justice services in a manner prescribed by
18 the division, and shall maintain records on the business premises for a
19 period of seven years concerning all sales, loans, and transfers of
20 ammunition to, from, or within the state.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08198-01-9
A. 3779 2
1 (ii) Every manufacturer shall code any ammunition for handguns and
2 assault weapons sold or manufactured after January first, two thousand
3 twenty.
4 b. The vendor registry. Every vendor of ammunition shall register with
5 the division of criminal justice services in a manner prescribed by the
6 division, and shall record the following information in a format
7 prescribed by the division:
8 (i) the date of the transaction;
9 (ii) the name of the transferee;
10 (iii) the purchaser's driver's license number or other government
11 issued identification card number;
12 (iv) the date of birth of the purchaser;
13 (v) the unique identifier of all handgun ammunition or bullets trans-
14 ferred; and
15 (vi) any other information determined necessary by the division.
16 Every vendor shall maintain these records on their premises for a
17 period of at least three years from the date of the recorded purchase.
18 2. To the greatest extent possible or practical, the ammunition coding
19 system database shall be built within the framework of existing firearms
20 databases. The ammunition coding system database shall be operational no
21 later than January first, two thousand twenty-one.
22 3. Privacy of individuals is of the utmost importance. Access to
23 information in the ammunition coding system database is reserved for key
24 law enforcement personnel and to be released only in connection with a
25 criminal investigation.
26 4. The cost of maintaining the database shall be funded by the ammuni-
27 tion coding system database fund established pursuant to section nine-
28 ty-one-e of the state finance law. Vendors shall charge an additional
29 $.005 per bullet or round of ammunition to the purchaser. Such moneys
30 shall be deposited into the fund.
31 5. Any person in possession of non-coded ammunition must dispose of
32 such ammunition no later than January first, two thousand twenty-two.
33 6. a. Any manufacturer that willfully fails to comply with the
34 provisions of this section shall be subject to a fine of up to one thou-
35 sand dollars for a first offense; a fine of up to five thousand dollars
36 for a second offense; and a fine of up to ten thousand dollars for a
37 third and each subsequent offense.
38 b. Any vendor that willfully fails to comply with the provisions of
39 this section shall be subject to a fine of up to one thousand dollars
40 for a first offense; a fine of up to two thousand dollars for a second
41 offense; and a fine of up to five thousand dollars for a third and each
42 subsequent offense. In addition to any fine imposed pursuant to this
43 section, a vendor may be subject to a term of imprisonment of less than
44 one year for each violation.
45 7. For purposes of this section, "coded ammunition" means a bullet
46 carrying a unique identifier that has been applied by etching onto the
47 base of the bullet projectile.
48 § 3. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 265.50 to read
49 as follows:
50 § 265.50 Unlawful sale or possession of uncoded ammunition.
51 A person is guilty of unlawful sale of uncoded ammunition when he or
52 she:
53 1. sells any ammunition that has not been coded pursuant to section
54 three hundred ninety-six-gg of the general business law; or
55 2. possesses any ammunition that is uncoded, or the code of which has
56 been rendered unreadable.
A. 3779 3
1 Unlawful sale or possession of uncoded ammunition is a class A misde-
2 meanor.
3 § 4. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 91-e to
4 read as follows:
5 § 91-e. Ammunition coding system database fund. 1. There is hereby
6 created in the joint custody of the comptroller and the commissioner of
7 taxation and finance, a fund to be known as the ammunition coding system
8 database fund.
9 2. The fund shall consist of all moneys collected pursuant to section
10 three hundred ninety-six-gg of the general business law, or any other
11 money appropriated to the fund by law.
12 3. The moneys of the fund shall be used to establish and maintain the
13 ammunition coding system database created pursuant to section three
14 hundred ninety-six-gg of the general business law.
15 4. Moneys shall be payable from the fund on the audit and warrant of
16 the state comptroller on vouchers approved and certified by the director
17 of the division of criminal justice services.
18 § 5. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
19 have become a law.