Colorado Legislative Council Staff

STATE

FISCAL NOTE

TABOR Refund Impact

General Fund Revenue and Expenditure Impact

TITLE:            CONCERNING PERMITS TO CARRY CONCEALED HANDGUNS, AND MAKING AN APPROPRIATION THEREFOR.

Summary of Legislation

            This bill pertains to the issuance of concealed handgun permits and includes the following provisions:

∙          states that the issuance of permits to carry concealed handguns is a matter of statewide concern, and assigns to county sheriffs of any city and county responsibility for issuing the permits;

∙          specifies the qualifications for receiving a permit, the contents of the permit, and how the permit may be used and identifies conditions when a handgun is not considered concealed;

∙          specifies the documents (including an application, permit fee, and photograph) an applicant must submit to a sheriff;

∙          instructs the sheriff to witness the applicant's signature on the permit application, verify the applicant's identity, take two full sets of the applicant's fingerprints;

∙          directs the sheriff or police chief to establish the new and renewal permit fees based on the costs of issuing and renewing the permits and sets a cap on the fee;

∙          specifies the procedures for denying a permit, including judicial review of the denial;

∙          instructs the sheriff or police chief to notify the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) of persons receiving permits;

∙          establishes procedures for renewing a permit, including the documents and fee to be filed and the sheriff's duties;

∙          requires the CBI to send one set of fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for processing and process the other set of fingerprints;

∙          requires the CBI to maintain a listing of permit holders that is available only to law enforcement agencies;

∙          establishes procedures for issuing emergency permits by sheriffs to any person who is protected under a restraining or emergency protection order or who is in immediate danger;

∙          specifies conditions under which a permit may become invalid or may be suspended;

∙          exempts peace officers, level I and level Ia, and comparable federal officers from the requirement to obtain a permit;

∙          specifies that a permit does not authorize a permittee to carry a concealed handgun in areas where carrying is prohibited by federal law;

∙          grants civil immunity to the CBI, local law enforcement agencies, and employees of said entities for the good faith implementation of the act;

∙          grants civil immunity for damages arising from issuance or denial of a permit to persons who may provide information concerning an applicant; and

∙          provides that permits issued prior to July 1, 1998, shall expire on June 30, 1999.

            The bill would take effect July 1, 1998.

State Revenues

            The bill will impact the revenue of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The CBI will receive two sets of fingerprints and fingerprint processing fees collected by local law enforcement agencies for concealed handgun permits. The bill requires the CBI to process one set of fingerprints and to send one set of fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for processing. The bill also requires the CBI to maintain a listing of permit holders that is available only to law enforcement agencies.

            It is estimated that the CBI will process fingerprints for approximately 19,000 concealed handgun applicants annually and also forward fingerprints to the FBI for 19,000 applicants annually. This represents approximately 0.5 percent of the Colorado population. The projected number of applicants is based on the number of permits in Arizona. In the first fiscal year following passage of the Arizona concealed weapons law approximately 0.5 percent of the population applied annually for concealed handgun permits and approximately .35 percent of the state’s population applied for concealed wapons permits in the second fiscal year following passage of the Arizona law.

            The CBI’s current $14 fingerprint processing fee will be assessed for approximately 19,000 applicants annually, resulting in $266,000 in estimated cash funds revenue from concealed weapons applicant print processing fees in FY 1997-98 and $194,114 in FY 1999-00. The FY 1997-98 Long Appropriations Bill included an appropriation to the CBI of 2.0 FTE and cash funds spending authority to process 10,000 sets of fingerprints for concealed weapons permits annually, with an estimated annual revenue of $140,000. This fiscal note assumes the FY 1998-99 Long Appropriations Bill will contain a continuing appropriation to the CBI for 2.0 FTE and cash funds

spending authority to process 10,000 sets of fingerprints for concealed weapons permits. Therefore, this fiscal note assumes the bill would result in an additional $126,000 in cash funds revenue to CBI in FY 1998-99 to process concealed weapons permit fingerprints.

            The CBI will also forward an estimated 19,000 fingerprint sets along with the $24 federal fee, to the FBI in FY 1998-99 and an estimeated 13,865 sets in FY 1999-00. This will generate an additional $456,000 in cash funds revenue to the CBI in FY 1998-99 and $332,766 in FY 1999-00; however, these funds will simply be forwarded to the FBI to pay the FBI fingerprint processing fee.

TABOR Refund Impact

            Section 20 of Article X of the Colorado Constitution, limits the maximum annual percentage increase in state fiscal year spending. Once total state revenue from all sources that are not specifically excluded from fiscal year spending exceeds these limits for the fiscal year, the state constitution requires that the excess shall be refunded in the next fiscal year unless voters approve a revenue change as an offset. Based on the current Legislative Council economic forecast, it is projected that the state will be in a TABOR refund position during each of the next five fiscal years. Any increase or decrease in state revenue from changes in fees, fines, licenses, or other revenue sources will affect the amount of the state revenue to be refunded.

State Expenditures

            This bill would create the need for additional resources for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Department of Public Safety in order to process 19,000 additional fingerprint sets forwarded from the sheriffs and the chiefs of police. The FY 1997-98 Long Appropriations Bill provided the CBI with 2.0 FTE and cash funds spending authority to process 10,000 sets of fingerprints for concealed weapons permits. It is assumed that the FY 1998-99 Long Appropriations Bill will contain a continuing appropriation of 2.0 FTE and FY 1998-99 cash funds spending authority to process 10,000 sets of fingerprints for concealed weapons permits.

            However, the CBI will need 1.0 FTE to process an additional 9,000 applications for concealed handgun permits annually. In addition, the CBI will need 1.0 FTE to maintain an automated database of permit holders and pertinent information, as required under the provisions of the bill. In addition, as discussed above, the CBI will forward $456,000 to the FBI to process concealed weapons permit fingerprints in FY 1997-98. The direct costs to the CBI are identified in the table below.

Expenditures Not Included

            Pursuant to the Joint Budget Committee’s budget policies, the following expenditures have not been included in this fiscal note:

            •   health and life insurance costs;

            •   short-term disability costs;

            •   inflationary cost factors;

            •   leased space; and

            •   indirect costs.

Local Government Impact

            The bill requires the sheriffs of any county or city and county to:

∙          provide a permit application to applicants on a statewide standardized form approved by the sheriffs;

∙          witness the applicant's signature on the permit application, verify the applicant's identity, collect evidence demonstrating the applicant’s competence with a handgun, take two full sets of the applicant's fingerprints;

∙          establish and collect an initial permit fee not to exceed $125 per applicant and a renewal permit fee not to exceed $100 for processing the permit application; and

∙          notify the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) of persons receiving permits;

            The bill states that the permit fee be based on the direct and indirect costs to the sheriff for processing applications. For the purposes of this fiscal note, it is assumed that sheriffs and police chiefs will charge and collect a $125 permit fee for an estimated 19,000 new permit applications annually. It is also assumed that sheriffs and police chiefs will collect a $14 CBI fingerprint processing fee and a $24 FBI fingerprint processing fees from 19,000 applicants annually and forward these amounts to the CBI.

Spending Authority

            This fiscal note indicates that for FY 1998-99, the Department of Public Safety, Colorado Bureau of Investigation, should be appropriated $542,758 cash funds and 2.0 FTE from fingerprint processing fees.

Departments Contacted

            County Sheriff’s Association

            Department of Public Safety