Progress made with gun permits
Text 
Thursday, November 15, 2007 | 
No Comments [ Add Comment ]
No Comments [ Add Comment ]By Jesse Fruhwirth
Standard-Examiner Davis Bureau
Home » News 
» Story View
By Jesse Fruhwirth
Standard-Examiner Davis Bureau
» Story View
By Jesse Fruhwirth
Standard-Examiner Davis Bureau
SALT LAKE CITY -- Utahns aren't waiting as long for concealed firearms permits as they were one year ago, but criminal background checks on state employees are taking longer.
Representatives of the Bureau of Criminal Identification testified Wednesday before the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Interim Committee at the State Capitol.
Concealed firearm permit applicants several years ago could expect to receive their permits in a couple weeks, but that wait swelled last year to more than 120 days.
The good news delivered Wednesday was that qualified applicants are now receiving their permits within a 60-day statutory time limit.
Some bad news, BCI chief Ed McConkie said, is faster gun permits means slower criminal background checks.
"The waiting list six months ago was 10,000 (applicants) and required, on average, 120 days (to process), twice required by law which is 60 days," McConkie said to the committee. "(But) we have had to take resources from our other sections."
Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake City, asked "to what extent have we robbed Peter to pay Paul?"
McConkie said the jury is still out.
"The Legislature decided in theory to emphasize concealed firearms permits over those other areas," he said. "I'm concerned over time how deep that will be. ... I won't lie, there will be public safety implications."
One implication, he said later, is that schools, police departments and anyone else who wants to run a criminal background check in Utah will have to wait longer. He said the fingerprint database has a two-year backlog for new additions.
And since Sept. 11, he said, more agencies, employers and even landlords want background checks than ever before.
During the legislative session, four employees were shifted to doing weapons permits.
The 2007 decision to also allow BCI to keep the concealed firearms permit fees -- around $850,000 a year -- wasn't a budget increase, Mc-Conkie said.
He explained that previously that money went into the state's general fund, and was appropriated to various agencies. Now that those fees were set aside specifically for BCI, it appeared some other state program would have to lose some funding or taxes would need to be raised.
Instead of doing either, McConkie said, a last-minute appropriations decision cut money from BCI's general budget and required them to dedicate the permit funds to that process.
The backlog is gone and BCI has collected $330,399 since July 1 when the funding changes went into effect.
That's close to $6,000 more than the operating costs for the concealed firearm permit division during the same time period.
Applications have soared in recent years as 33 states now have reciprocity with Utah.
That is, gun owners from other states can apply in Utah for a concealed firearm permit if the Utah permit is recognized in their state.
In 2001, fewer than 8,000 applications were received from state and out-of-state applicants, but BCI has received nearly 24,000 applicants in 2007.
Residents from other states make up nearly half of the 8,743 applicants waiting for a permit.
There are no comments for this page.
Add Your Comment
| Name: | |
| Comment: | |
| Security Code: |
Type the characters to the left in the box exactly as they appear. |
