Int. No. 518-A

By Council Members Abreu, Hanks, Ayala, Powers, Brooks-Powers, Feliz, Salamanca, Riley, Williams, Velázquez, Brewer, Louis, Schulman, Marte, Ung, Joseph, Hudson, Restler, Dinowitz, Narcisse, Nurse, Lee, Rivera, Bottcher, Won, Menin, Mealy and De La Rosa

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to a study and report on the trafficking of illegal firearms

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Chapter 3 of title 10 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new section 10-316 to read as follows:

§ 10-316 Firearm trafficking report. a. The mayor’s office of criminal justice shall coordinate with the police department to conduct a study on reducing the flow of firearms into the city and shall submit a report to the mayor and the speaker of the council no later than December 1, 2022, and annually thereafter. Such study and report shall include the following information for the preceding calendar year:

1. For each firearm seized or surrendered in the city and obtained by the police department:

(a) Whether the firearm was connected to a crime;

(b) Where the firearm originated, including where it was first sold, manufactured, imported or assembled;

(c) The date such firearm was seized or surrendered and the date such firearm was last sold legally;

(d) The location of such seizure, including latitude and longitude if available, but in all cases at least as specific as the nearest intersection;

(e) The type of such firearm;

(f) The manufacturer or importer of such firearm;

(g) Whether the firearm was a ghost gun or a firearm created using a three-dimensional printer, and if so, the entities that produced such firearm or parts thereof;

(h) The dealer of such firearm and whether such dealer was licensed; and

(i) Whether the firearm was registered in any registry, including the national firearms registration and transfer record.

2. A review of the ways firearms are illegally transported into the city, including through roadways on and connected to interstate 95 and sea ports or bodies of water;

3. A review of the ways states and municipalities collaborate to prevent illegal transportation of firearms, and recommendations to strengthen such collaboration, including:

(a) Recommendations for strengthening collaboration between the mayor’s office of criminal justice, the police department, the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives and other relevant state and federal agencies;

(b) Recommendations for strengthening law enforcement’s ability to trace firearms, including whether increased microstamping would be feasible and effective;

(c) Recommendations for implementing a shared electronic tracking system to identify dealers who have sold a particular firearm; and

(d) Examining the value of establishing a firearm dealer code of conduct, including recommendations for provisions that should be included in such dealer code of conduct;

4. Recommendations for policies to prevent access to firearms by individuals who are likely to harm themselves or others;

5. Recommendations for youth-related programs to discourage the use of firearms by minors;

6. Recommendations for crime prevention through environmental design improvements, including additional lighting in public spaces; and

7. Impediments to reporting additional relevant data related to illegal firearms, including any legal restrictions on such reporting or the use of such data for such reporting.

b. Limitations on disclosure. If disclosure of any information specified in paragraph one of subdivision a of this section is prohibited by law, such study and report shall identify the information being withheld and the reason therefor, and shall, instead of such withheld information, include aggregate data to the extent available. Such study and report need not include information about any firearm obtained through a gun buy-back program or where disclosure would compromise the safety of the public or police officers or could otherwise compromise law enforcement investigations or operations.  Such report shall include the total number of seizures for which reporting was withheld due to a pending criminal investigation, and upon completion of such investigations the information relating to such seizures shall be reflected in a subsequent report.

§ 2. This local law takes effect immediately.

JEF/JDK

LS #8259

9/13/22