Fiscal Impact Summary	FY 1999/2000	FY 2000/2001
State Revenues General Fund	Possible Fine Revenue
State Expenditures General Fund
FTE Position Change	0.0 FTE	0.0 FTE
Other State Impact: TABOR
Effective Date: July 1, 1999, with applicability of Sections 3, 4, 5, and 6 to apply to offenses committed on or after said date.
Appropriation Summary for FY 1999-2000:
Local Government Impact: See Local Government section.

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

• the issuance of permits to carry concealed handguns is a matter of statewide concern;•county sheriffs or any person performing the duties of sheriff in any city and county would be responsible for issuing the permits;

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

• specifies the documents (including an application, permit fee, and identification consisting of either a valid Colorado driver’s license or military photo identification) an applicant must submit to a sheriff;

• instructs the sheriff to witness the applicant's signature on the permit application and verify the applicant's identity;

• 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 and time line (30 days) for approving or denying a permit, including judicial review of the denial;

• requires the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to maintain an on-line, automated listing of states whose permits are entitled to reciprocity;

• establishes procedures for renewing a permit, including the documents to be filed and fee to be paid, sheriff's duties, and the process for renewing a license after the permit’s expiration date;

• 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 level I and Ia peace officers, including those retired for five years or less, 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 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;

• provides that permits issued prior to July 1, 1999, shall expire on June 30, 2000; and

• creates class 2 misdemeanor for persons knowingly and intentionally filing false and misleading information on the application for a permit or for the renewal of a permit.

The establishment of perjury for the penalty of knowingly and intentionally making any false or misleading statement on a permit application makes it possible that the state could receive revenue from persons convicted under this provision. As defined in proposed Section 18-8-503.7, the person who commits perjury may be charged with a class 2 misdemeanor. The penalty for a class 2 misdemeanor, established in Section 18-1-106 (1), C.R.S., is three to 12 months in prison and/or a fine of $250 to $1,000. Fine revenue would be deposited in the State General Fund. The number of persons who could commit this crime, be convicted, fined, and pay the fine cannot be estimated. Any moneys realized from this provision would count as TABOR revenues.

This bill would not impact state expenditures. Proposed Section 18-12-207 requires the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Department of Public Safety, to set up an on-line, automated listing of states whose permits are entitled to reciprocity. Although this function does not exist today, the CBI reports that establishing and maintaining such a listing would have a minimal workload increase and can be accommodated within existing resources.

• 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, provide copies of statutory provisions concerning “deadly physical force”;

• conduct a search of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System; and

• establish and collect an initial permit fee not to exceed $100 per applicant and a renewal permit fee not to exceed $50 for processing the permit application.

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 $100 permit fee for an estimated 20,500 new permit applications annually. This assumption yields annual revenues of $2,050,000 that will be distributed among sheriffs’ offices statewide. These moneys would count as TABOR revenues to affected local governments. For those officials that currently issue permits there would be no impact unless this increases the number of permittees. Where an official does not issue concealed weapons permits, the bill would cause an increase in work load..

The establishment of the penalty of class 2 misdemeanor for persons knowingly and intentionally making any false or misleading statements in the process of applying for a permit could increase county jail populations.

This fiscal note implies that no appropriations are necessary to implement the provisions of the bill.