Second Amendment Legal Update, May 2025

A monthly update, prepared for the Schuyler County Chapter of S.C.O.P.E. NY, a statewide 501(c)4 organization dedicated to preserving the 2nd Amendment rights for the residents of New York State. For a complete copy of this month’s report, click here.

Second Amendment Legal Update: April 2025

A monthly update, prepared for the Schuyler County Chapter of S.C.O.P.E. NY, a statewide 501(c)4 organization dedicated to preserving the 2nd Amendment rights for the residents of New York State. For a complete copy of this month’s report, click here.

Second Amendment Legal Update, December 2024

A monthly update, prepared for the Schuyler County Chapter of S.C.O.P.E. NY, a statewide 501(c)4 organization dedicated to preserving the 2nd Amendment rights for the residents of New York State. For a complete copy of this month’s report, click here.

Second Amendment Legal Update, November 2024

A monthly update, prepared for the Schuyler County Chapter of S.C.O.P.E. NY, a statewide 501(c)4 organization dedicated to preserving the 2nd Amendment rights for the residents of New York State. For a complete copy of this month’s report, click here.

Second Amendment Legal Update, October 2024

A monthly update, prepared for the Schuyler County Chapter of S.C.O.P.E. NY, a statewide 501(c)4 organization dedicated to preserving the 2nd Amendment rights for the residents of New York State. For a complete copy of this month’s report, click here.

Second Amendment Legal Update: September 2024

A monthly update, prepared for the Schuyler County Chapter of S.C.O.P.E. NY, a statewide 501(c)4 organization dedicated to preserving the 2nd Amendment rights for the residents of New York State. For a complete copy of this month’s report, click here.

Summary of New Legislation Available

The New York Conference of Mayors (NYCOM) has published its 2023 Summary of Enacted and Pending Legislation, which highlights legislation that passed the Senate and Assembly and impacts cities and villages.

The document, which is regularly updated, is available on the NYCOM website.

According to NYCOM, this year there were 869 pieces of legislation that passed both houses and have been or will be delivered to Governor Hochul for her approval or veto. A copy of the update, current as of September 5, 2023, appears below.

NYCOM Summary of Legislation by Steven Getman on Scribd

NYS Officials Announce Interagency Enforcement Actions Against Unlicensed Marijuana Businesses

June 8, 2023,Albany, NY:

Governor Kathy Hochul (on June 8) announced the launch of an interagency initiative to cease the sale of untested cannabis from unlicensed storefronts and trucks. Enforcement officers from the New York State Office of Cannabis Management and Department of Taxation and Finance conducted inspections at storefront businesses not licensed to sell cannabis and issued

Notices of Violation and Orders to Cease Unlicensed Activity, when appropriate. These actions will be replicated across the state to end public sales of untested cannabis by unlicensed businesses. As part of the FY 2024 Budget, Governor Hochul signed critical legislation allowing for these expanded enforcement actions against unlicensed cannabis businesses to take place.

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Governor Hochul signed legislation allowing for enhanced enforcement of unlicensed cannabis businesses as part of the FY 2024 Budget. The legislation allows the Office of Cannabis Management to assess civil penalties against unlicensed cannabis businesses that would undercut their efforts, with fines of up to $20,000 a day for the most egregious conduct. It also makes it a crime to sell cannabis and cannabis products without a license.

As a result of the legislation, the Department of Taxation and Finance can also conduct regulatory inspections of businesses selling cannabis to determine if appropriate taxes have been paid and levy civil penalties in cases where appropriate taxes have not been paid. The legislation also establishes a new tax fraud crime for businesses that willfully fail to collect or remit required cannabis taxes, or knowingly possess for sale any cannabis on which tax was required to be paid but was not.

For more information on the new legislation, click here.

Second Amendment Legal Update, June 2023

A monthly update, prepared for the Schuyler County Chapter of S.C.O.P.E. NY, a statewide 501(c)4 organization dedicated to preserving the 2nd Amendment rights for the residents of New York State. For a complete copy of this month’s report, click here.

Schuyler County issues state of emergency over relocation of illegal immigrants.

Watkins Glen, NY (May 11, 2023)--With Title 42 expiring on Thursday (May 11), Schuyler County has become the latest county in New York to issue a state of emergency over the relocation of illegal immigrants within the state, County Legislature Chairman Carl Blowers and County Administrator Fonda Chronis announced Thursday.

Blowers has issued an executive order that places the county under a Local State of Emergency that prohibits municipal programs from housing illegal migrants/asylum seekers. It also prohibits any hotel, short-term rental and motel in the county from entering into a contract to house them, or risk daily fines.

According to Blowers’ order there is reason to believe that these migrants could be transported to Schuyler County, with no reason to believe they will leave. The order finds a potential emergency for the public with the threat of large numbers of people being transported to the county.

The order notes that New York City Mayor Eric Adams has put in place plans to send illegal aliens to other areas and that Governor Kathy Hochul issued a May 9 Executive Order to boost support for asylum seekers. It also notes that Tompkins County, which borders Schuyler County is a sanctuary county, increasing the chances of migrants finding their way to Schuyler County.

The county doesn’t have the appropriate services to take in large numbers of people, especially given its small population, and there is no legal basis to provide services to them through the Department of Social Services, the order states.

Under the order, anyone found in violation of the emergency rules may be liable for a civil penalty of up to $2,000 per migrant/asylum seeker per day, and could be found guilty of a Class B Misdemeanor. The Schuyler County Sheriff is authorized to issue appearance tickets for any violation and the County Attorney may commence civil lawsuits against violators as well.

Blowers has set the emergency order to be in effect for five days unless sooner modified, extended, or revoked, and may be extended for additional periods.

A complete conformed copy of the Local Emergency Order is available below

Schuyler County Executive O... by Steven Getman

Second Amendment Legal Update: March 2023

A monthly update, prepared for the Schuyler County Chapter of S.C.O.P.E. NY, a statewide 501(c)4 organization dedicated to preserving the 2nd Amendment rights for the residents of New York State. For a complete copy of this month's report, click here.

New York enacts ‘right to repair’ bill for electronic devices

New York Daily News:

Finding ways to fix smartphones and other electronic devices will soon be a little easier for New Yorkers (under) a bill that will eventually require manufacturers to make diagnostic manuals, tools and other parts necessary for repairs available to the public and independent service shops.

The measure, considered the first so-called “right to repair” law in the country, will only apply to products made or sold after July 1, 2023.

The new law will cover digital electronic products, such as phones, tablets and IT equipment, and require companies provide access to the parts, tools and information needed to repair equipment.

Environmental advocates celebrated the legislative victory and said the new law will help reduce the threat from toxic chemicals found in many of the devices when they are prematurely discarded.

However, at least one “right to repair” advocate has declared that changes made to the bill by Gov. Kathy Hochul have rendered the law “functionally toothless”:

Right to Repair advocate Louis Rossmann has made a bitter YouTube video expressly saying that Governor Hochul's statement is "the exact opposite of what's going to happen with this bill because of how it was amended."

Central to Rossmann's argument is that the purpose of Right to Repair is to allow consumers to fix or replace individual components that have broken. As passed, he argues that the bill effectively allows companies free reign to declare a single component as unrepairable, and instead offer a costly assembly of several related parts.

"[The] manufacturer will tell you that when you have a bad $28 chip on your motherboard that what you need to do is replace the $745 Motherboard," he says.

For a complete copy of the new law, click here.

Second Amendment Legal Update, January 2023

A monthly update, prepared for the Schuyler County Chapter of S.C.O.P.E. NY, a statewide 501(c)4 organization dedicated to preserving the 2nd Amendment rights for the residents of New York State. For a complete copy of this month's report, click here.

Second Amendment Legal Update, December 2022

A monthly update, prepared for the Schuyler County Chapter of S.C.O.P.E. NY, a statewide 501(c)4 organization dedicated to preserving the 2nd Amendment rights for the residents of New York State. For a complete copy of this month's report, click here.

Second Amendment Legal Update, November 2022

A monthly update, prepared for the Schuyler County Chapter of S.C.O.P.E. NY, a statewide 501(c)4 organization dedicated to preserving the 2nd Amendment rights for the residents of New York State. For a complete copy of this month's report, click here.

County Officials to Hochul: Raise the Age law at “crisis level”

A lack of juvenile detention facilities for teenagers charged with violent crimes under New York’s “Raise the Age” (RTA) law has reached a crisis level, often forcing counties to release the accused into the public and placing communities and children at risk.

That’s the finding of a statewide group of county officials and probation administrators, in a letter sent to Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday (August 8).

As noted in the letter, the 2018 RTA law created a new “adolescent offender” status for 16-and 17-year-olds who commit a felony-level crime. Under the law, instead of being tried as adults and placed in jails, the most serious offenders could be sent to specialized secure detention facilities.

However, despite mandating that counties operate or have access to those facilities (which never existed before RTA), the scarcity of these state-certified facilities has led to “severely negative consequences,” for the public and the counties who administer the law.

“Today, counties either have to transport youth far from home while they await trial, or the youth remains free in their community after having been charged with serious crimes that include murder, attempted murder, rape, and robbery—many of which included the use of guns,” the letter notes. “Both scenarios, which are common occurrences in many jurisdictions, are a direct result of the state not being fully prepared for this hastily implemented legislation and its mandate that counties be solely responsible for detention.”

“When secure detention space is not available, the Adolescent Offender, which is often a high-risk individual alleged to have a committed a serious and violent crime, is released to be supervised by the probation department.”

To help resolve this crisis, the county officials are urging Hochul to transition some of the closed Department of Correctional and Community Supervision facilities to accommodate the lack of specialized secure detention beds.

The county representatives also suggested that the state allow the Finger Lakes Consortium to open a specialized secure detention facility.

That consortium, created via a 2018 Intermunicipal Agreement, drafted by Schuyler County Attorney Steven Getman, looks to establish a not-for-profit local development corporation to develop and operate a joint detention facility under RTA. Counties who have joined—or are looking to join—the consortium are Allegany, Chemung, Cortland, Livingston, Cattaraugus, Wayne, Schuyler, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins and Yates. The counties contracted with John Treahy, of Treahy and Associates Consultation Services, an organization experienced in juvenile justice and child welfare issues, job coaching and staff training. v RTA was intended as a shift from punishing to rehabilitating teens charged with crimes. While in custody, the suspects would be eligible for a variety of case services and programs to divert them from offending again and give them access to treatment for addiction or other problems.

The “Raise the Age NY Campaign” believes the law will be more effective in preventing re-offenses. They cite a U.S. Center for Disease Control study that found youth who are tried in the adult criminal justice system are 34 percent more likely to commit future crimes than those who remain in the youth justice system.

A complete copy of the letter to Hochul, signed by representatives of the New York State Association of Counties, Council of Probation Administrators and County Executives’ Association can be found here

Second Amendment Legal Update, August 2022

A monthly update, prepared for the Schuyler County Chapter of S.C.O.P.E. NY, a statewide 501(c)4 organization dedicated to preserving the 2nd Amendment rights for the residents of New York State. For a complete PDF copy of this month's update click here.

Second Amendment Legal Update: May, 2022

A monthly update, prepared for the Schuyler County Chapter of S.C.O.P.E. NY, a statewide 501(c)4 organization dedicated to preserving the 2nd Amendment rights for the residents of New York State. For a complete PDF copy of this month's update, click here.

Second Amendment Legal Update: April, 2022

A monthly update, prepared for the Schuyler County Chapter of S.C.O.P.E. NY, a statewide 501(c)4 organization dedicated to preserving the 2nd Amendment rights for the residents of New York State. For a complete PDF copy of this month's update, click here.

Second Amendment Legal Update: March, 2022

A monthly update, prepared for the Schuyler County Chapter of S.C.O.P.E. NY, a statewide 501(c)4 organization dedicated to preserving the 2nd Amendment rights for the residents of New York State.

For a complete PDF copy of this month's update, click here.