Governor Hochul's 2024 Gun Safety Package: Six Bills Explained

Overview

On October 9, 2024, Governor Kathy Hochul signed six gun safety bills into law.^[1] The signing coincided with the Governor's announcement that shooting incidents with injury in New York City and communities served by the 28 GIVE police departments had declined 47 percent during her administration.

Bill 1: Dealer Safety Warnings (S6649/A2882)

The first bill requires firearms dealers and gunsmiths to post warnings where firearms are sold. It separately requires firearms dealers to distribute the warning to purchasers at each individual sale. The warning addresses suicide, death during domestic disputes, and unintentional deaths involving children, household members, and others.^[2]

Bill 2: Pistol Converters (S7365B/A10053A)

The second bill adds "pistol converter" to Penal Law 265.00. The definition covers a device attached to the slide of a semiautomatic pistol that interferes with the trigger mechanism and enables rapid or automatic discharge with one continuous pull of the trigger. The legislation also amends the firearm-industry duties in General Business Law to require reasonable steps to prevent the installation and use of pistol converters on manufacturers' products.^[3]

Bill 3: ERPO Registry Reporting (S3340/A5873)

The third bill requires courts to report temporary and final extreme risk protection orders to the statewide computerized registry of orders of protection and warrants. The registry gives police a record of outstanding ERPOs.^[4]

Bill 4: Police Agencies as ERPO Petitioners (A7717B/S8589A)

The fourth bill allows a police agency, rather than an individually named police officer, to be listed as the petitioner in an ERPO proceeding.^[5]

Bill 5: Merchant Category Codes (S8479A/A9862A)

The fifth bill requires payment card networks to make the firearms-and-ammunition merchant category code available and requires merchant acquirers to assign it to covered New York firearms dealers. A covered dealer is one whose highest sales value comes from the combined sale of firearms, firearm accessories, or ammunition. The Attorney General may bring an enforcement action for a violation that remains uncured 30 days after notice.^[6]

Bill 6: Safe-Storage Information (S9760/A10356A)

The sixth bill requires firearms licensing officers to provide new licensees with state and local safe-storage, child-access-prevention, and firearm-violence-prevention information. It also requires a public-awareness campaign, digital availability, and annual review of the campaign materials.^[7]

April 2025 Chapter Amendments

On April 3, 2025, Governor Hochul signed three chapter amendments refining parts of the October 2024 package.^[8]

• S.744/A.436 (Pistol Converters): The amendment added pistol converters to the rapid-fire-modification-device provisions and aligned the related definitions and offenses.^[9]
• S.745/A.439 (Merchant Category Codes): This amendment to the S8479A/A9862A law removed standalone ammunition dealers from the covered definition and retained coverage for firearms dealers whose highest sales value comes from the combined sale of firearms, firearm accessories, or ammunition.^[10]
• S.743/A.437 (Dealer Safety Warnings): This amendment revised the required dealer-warning language and display requirements.^[11]