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Home/Bills/S 1985New York · 2025–2026 Legislative Session
Senate BillChaptered/Signed

S 1985: Requires police officers to take temporary custody of firearms for not less than one hundred twenty hours when responding to reports of family violence.

New York · Senate · 2025–2026 Legislative Session · last verified October 17, 2025

What S 1985 does, verified October 17, 2025

The law requires police officers to take temporary custody of firearms when responding to reports of family violence. Police officers can take custody of firearms if the victim responds affirmatively to threats or lethality assessment questions, or if the officer believes it's necessary to protect the victim or prevent further violence. The officer must also take custody of any license to carry or possess the firearm. After 120 hours, the court or licensing authority can direct the return of the firearm and/or license if there is no legal impediment to the owner's possession.

Bill journey
✓IntroducedComplete
✓In CommitteeComplete
✓First Chamber FloorComplete
✓Second ChamberComplete
✓GovernorComplete
6ChapteredCurrent
Last action: SIGNED CHAP.466 (2025-10-16)Alert me
Recent actions20 total · showing 5
Oct. 16, 2025SIGNED CHAP.466
Oct. 09, 2025DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR
Jun. 11, 2025returned to senate
Jun. 11, 2025passed assembly
Jun. 11, 2025ordered to third reading cal.54
Full action history, 15 earlier actionsConnect Plus
Latest bill textIntroduced version, January 14, 2025 · 504 words
  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1985 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE January 14, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. HARCKHAM -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to requiring police officers to take temporary custody of firearms when responding to reports of family violence The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraphs (a) and (c) of subdivision 6 of section 140.10 2 of the criminal procedure law, as added by section 2 of part M of chap- 3 ter 55 of the laws of 2020, are amended to read as follows: 4 (a) A police officer who responds to a report of a family offense as 5 defined in section 530.11 of this chapter and section eight hundred 6 twelve of the family court act [may] shall take temporary custody of any 7 firearm, rifle, electronic dart gun, electronic stun gun, disguised gun, 8 imitation weapon, shotgun, antique firearm, black powder rifle, black 9 powder shotgun, or muzzle-loading firearm that is in plain sight or is 10 discovered pursuant to a consensual or other lawful search, and shall 11 take temporary custody of any such weapon that is in the possession of 12 any person arrested for the commission of such family offense or 13 suspected of its commission. An officer who takes custody of any weapon 14 pursuant to this paragraph shall also take custody of any license to 15 carry, possess, repair, and dispose of such weapon issued to the person 16 arrested or suspected of such family offense. The officer shall deliver 17 such weapon and/or license to the appropriate law enforcement officer as 18 provided in subparagraph (f) of paragraph one of subdivision a of 19 section 265.20 of the penal law. 20 (c) Not less than [forty-eight] one hundred twenty hours after effect- 21 ing such seizure, and in the absence of (i) an order of protection, an 22 extreme risk protection order, or other court order prohibiting the 23 owner from possessing such a weapon and/or license, or (ii) a pending 24 criminal charge or conviction which prohibits such owner from possessing EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD02092-01-5 

 S. 1985 2 1 such a weapon and/or license, and upon a written finding that there is 2 no legal impediment to the owner's possession of such a weapon and/or 3 license, the court or, if no court is involved, licensing authority or 4 custodian of the weapon shall direct return of a weapon not otherwise 5 disposed of in accordance with subdivision one of section 400.05 of the 6 penal law and/or such license taken into custody pursuant to this 7 section. 8 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 

Text of S 1985 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions
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