A 8920: Establishes the crimes of criminal sale of a flare gun in the first and second degrees; sets restrictions on and requirements for the sale of flare guns.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8920 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY July 16, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. ROMERO, McDONALD -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the penal law and the general business law, in relation to placing restrictions on the sale of flare guns The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The penal law is amended by adding two new sections 265.67 2 and 265.68 to read as follows: 3 § 265.67 Criminal sale of a flare gun in the second degree. 4 Any person, firm, corporation, dealer, or other entity who sells, 5 offers for sale, or gives a flare gun to any person under the age of 6 twenty-one shall be guilty of a violation punishable by a fine of not 7 more than five hundred dollars. This section shall not apply to sales or 8 transfers to: 9 1. law enforcement agencies; 10 2. members of the armed forces or other governmental personnel acting 11 within the scope of their official duties; or 12 3. persons under twenty-one years of age participating in a supervised 13 training program approved by the commissioner of parks, recreation and 14 historic preservation or the division of homeland security and emergency 15 services. 16 § 265.68 Criminal sale of a flare gun in the first degree. 17 Any person, firm, corporation, dealer, or other entity is guilty of 18 criminal sale of a flare gun in the first degree when such person, firm, 19 corporation, dealer, or other entity sells, offers for sale, or gives a 20 flare gun to any person under the age of twenty-one and has a previous 21 conviction for criminal sale of a flare gun in the second degree. 22 Criminal sale of a flare gun in the first degree is a class A misde- 23 meanor. 24 § 2. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 399- 25 qqq to read as follows: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD13467-01-5 
 A. 8920 2 1 § 399-qqq. Sale of flare guns; age restriction. 1. No person, firm, 2 corporation, or other business entity shall sell, offer for sale, or 3 distribute any flare gun to a person under the age of twenty-one years. 4 2. Prior to the completion of any sale or transfer of a flare gun, the 5 seller shall require the purchaser to present a valid government-issued 6 photo identification verifying that the purchaser is twenty-one years of 7 age or older. 8 3. For the purposes of this section, "flare gun" means any handheld 9 signaling device, Very pistol, or signal pistol designed and purposed to 10 fire a pyrotechnic flare, whether single-shot or multi-shot, and whether 11 marketed for maritime, emergency, or recreational use. 12 4. This section shall not apply to sales or transfers to: 13 (a) law enforcement agencies; 14 (b) members of the armed forces or other governmental personnel acting 15 within the scope of their official duties; or 16 (c) persons under twenty-one years of age participating in a super- 17 vised training program approved by the commissioner of parks, recreation 18 and historic preservation or the division of homeland security and emer- 19 gency services. 20 5. Any person, firm, or corporation who violates the provisions of 21 this section shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed one thou- 22 sand dollars. 23 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.