BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
SB 610 (Wright)
Hearing Date: 05/26/2011 Amended: 04/13/2011
Consultant: Jolie Onodera Policy Vote: Public Safety 4-1
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BILL SUMMARY: SB 610 would amend the process for application for
a license to carry a concealed firearm, as follows:
1) Upon making the determination of good cause, the
licensing authority shall give written notice to the
applicant of the determination;
2) If the licensing authority determines good cause exists,
the notice shall inform the applicant to proceed with
specified training requirements;
3) Does not require an applicant to pay for any training
courses prior to the determination of good cause being
made;
4) If the application for licensure is denied, the
licensing authority must provide the specific reason for
the denial in the written notice;
5) No applicant shall be required to obtain liability
insurance as a condition to obtain a license.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund
Noticing requirements Unknown, reimbursable local costs;General
potentially significant court costs
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STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE.
Current law states that when an individual applies for a license
to carry a pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being
concealed upon the person, the licensing authority may issue a
license to that person upon proof that the applicant is of good
moral character, that good cause exists for issuance of the
license, that the applicant is a resident of the county or city,
or the applicant's principal place of employment or business is
in the county or city, and the applicant has completed a course
of training, as specified.
This bill would require the licensing authority to give written
notice to all applicants of the licensing authority's
determination of good cause when that determination is made.
Additionally, if the licensing authority determines that good
cause exists, the notice shall inform the applicant to proceed
SB 610 (Wright)
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with training requirements, as specified. This provision will
result in reimbursable costs to local licensing authorities to
complete this mandated activity. The total cost for providing
the good cause notifications is unknown, and would be dependent
on the number of applications submitted annually statewide as
well as the resource needs required to establish and complete
the notification process in each county. Based on applications
received in several counties, it is estimated that approximately
7,500 applications would be received annually statewide.
Under existing law, the licensing authority is required to give
notice to applicants within a specified period of time
indicating if the license is approved or denied. This bill would
require the licensing authority to additionally include the
specific reason for the denial for those applications that are
denied. Staff notes the inclusion of this additional information
could have a significant workload impact on licensing
authorities associated with an increasing number of denials
being contested, requests for access to documents to
substantiate the reason for the denial cited on the notice, and
potentially significant court costs associated with potential
lawsuits that may result.
This bill also specifies the applicant shall not be required to
obtain liability insurance as a condition of receiving a license
to carry a concealed firearm. As existing law prohibits any
requirement, charge, assessment, fee, or condition that requires
the payment of any additional funds by the applicant to be
imposed by any licensing authority as a condition of the
application of a license, the prohibition on obtaining liability
insurance is consistent with current statute and would not
result in any fiscal impact.