Legislators have taken a first step to write into law a $20 hike in fees to obtain a concealed weapons permit — which gun enthusiasts say state administrators imposed illegally last month and continue to charge despite dubious authority.
The bill approved in committee this week would raise fees for permit renewals, not just original applications.
The National Rifle Association and the Utah Shooting Sports Council are both crying foul, contending previous lower fees not only covered the costs of the concealed-carry permit program but also generated an $800,000 surplus — so the extra fees are unneeded.
“If they need the money, they need the money. But they have got to show it and do it by the right process and include some transparency,” said Clark Aposhian, president of the Utah Shooting Sports Council.
The controversial fee hikes were attached to a bill that is renewing a three-year effort to raise driver license fees, and was endorsed this week by the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Interim Committee.
No one showed up to fight the driver license fee hikes in committee, but the gun groups testified against the concealed-weapons permit fees.
That comes after the Bureau of Criminal Identification on Aug. 1 raised the overall cost of several fees to obtain a first-time concealed weapons permit to $57 for Utah residents and $67 for out-of-staters. Nearly two-thirds of those with Utah permits live outside the state.
Gun groups complained that fees are set by law, and BCI did not have the power to hike them on its own. The Legislature’s Administrative Rules Review Committee last month summoned BCI to the Capitol to explain its action.
Several lawmakers at the hearing said BCI may have overstepped its bounds. But the committee lacked a quorum to vote on the matter.
BCI officials contended they did have proper authority from a 2015 bill that allowed charging $20 to any “non-criminal justice” applicants for some background checks. However, some lawmakers who listened to tapes of debate on that bill say it clearly was intended only to be charged to educators, not other groups.
The new bill would give explicit authority to charge that fee to groups besides educators, including people applying for concealed-weapons permits.
Aposhian said seeking that change “shows it isn’t in the law now, but they are still charging the higher fee.”
Sen. Daniel Thatcher, R-West Valley City, sponsor of the bill, said the change is sought to remove any questions about legality of the fee.
Joseph Brown, finance director for the Department of Public Safety, told the committee that fees for the concealed weapons permit had — as gun groups claimed — produced a surplus $800,000 that is being held in a restricted account.
But he said projections show that without increases, fees will not cover costs in coming years — and that the restricted account likely would be drawn down to cover shortfalls. Thatcher said ensuring that fees cover costs is the main reason he is running the bill.
One reason revenues from concealed-weapons permits are projected to decrease is that more renewals are expected, along with fewer first-time applications, Brown said. The state has charged lower fees for renewals, but Brown said they require just as much administrative work.
So the bill would increase renewal fees to the same level as first-time applications. Aposhian contends renewals, handled with brief online applications, do not require as much work — and said state officials told him that previously.
Brian Judy, Utah liaison for NRA, also criticized the bill in the committee. He asked that the concealed-weapons permit fees be handled in a separate bill from driver-license fee hikes to permit more direct focus on whether they are justified.
The combined bill also proposes to increase the cost to renew a regular Utah driver license from $25 to $32 to help cover administrative costs.
Among other proposed fee hikes in the bill are:
• Original provisional driver license application: $39, up from $30.
• Learner permit application: $19, up from $15.
• Motorcycle endorsement: $11, up from $9.50.
• Renewal of a regular Class D license for people age 65 and older: $17, up from $13.
• An identification card: $23, up from $18.
• An original application for commercial driver license: $52, up from $40, and the skills test would be $78, up from $60.
• Each original or renewal commercial driver license endorsement for passengers, hazardous material, double or triple trailers, or tankers: $9, up from $7.
• A license reinstatement application for an alcohol or drug offense: $45, up from $35.
• Administrative fee for license reinstatement after an alcohol or drug offense: $255, up from $230.
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