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Utah Permits

Lots of out of state get Utah carry permits because they’re fairly simple to get and have reciprocity with many states. But Utah is picking up the tab for it:

Utah has become the nation’s bargain basement for permits to carry concealed guns. But it’s no bargain for Utah taxpayers.

As The Tribune reported last Sunday, there has been a dramatic rise in the number of permits issued to out-of-state residents. About 58 percent of the 16,000 projected applicants in 2006 do not live in Utah.

There are two problems with this.

First, the concealed-carry permit program does not pay for itself. The Utah Department of Public Safety, which issues the permits through the Bureau of Criminal Identification, must subsidize the program through other parts of its budget.

The program is expected to raise about $500,000 this year, but it will cost about $610,000. That understates the subsidy because the revenues are deposited in the state’s general fund, and the Legislature only appropriates about $88,000 to run the program.

Program supporters claim that it would be self-supporting if all of its revenues were dedicated to paying expenses. But it appears to us there still would be a shortfall.

Expect an increase in fees or for the permit.

Update: Jeff, who already covered it and I missed it, emails:

Actually, I covered this in last week’s Weekly Report and Cam Edwards & I discussed this on the air. The problem isn’t with the cost of the permits, the state collects over a half-million dollars from them and THAT is the problem: The permit fees go into the general treasury of the state. Then, Utah gives only a fraction of that back to the BCI (Bureau of Criminal Investigations) that actually processes the applications. If the application fees actually went to the BCI in the first place, the fee would (or could) drop to about $25 dollars!

Ok, then.

One Response to “Utah Permits”

  1. Captain Holly Says:

    Another factor to consider is the Salt Lake Tribune has been a bitter foe of CCW since it was implemented over 10 years ago. The editors are always looking for a way to bad-mouth the program; since there’s been no “Blood in the Streets!” I guess they’ve decided to play the “Utah’s getting ripped off!” angle.

Remember, I do this to entertain me, not you.

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