127th MAINE LEGISLATURE
		LD 823		LR 1599(09)
	An Act To Upgrade the Concealed Handgun Permit Law
	Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment " "
	Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
	Fiscal Note Required: Yes
Fiscal Note
			FY 2015-16	FY 2016-17	Projections  FY 2017-18	Projections  FY 2018-19
Appropriations/Allocations
	Other Special Revenue Funds		$0	$253,814	$229,506	$235,845
Fiscal Detail and Notes
	This bill repeals the authority of municipalities to issue concealed weapons permits and increases the permit term from 4 to 10 years. In the 1st Regular Session of the 127th Legislature, PL 2015, Chapter 327 eliminated the general permitting requirement for concealed weapons with certain exceptions. Before that change reduced the number of permits issued by the State and by municipalities, the Department of Public Safety (DPS) had estimated the need for 6 additional positions to take on the permitting responsibilities of municipalities as required by this bill. Although it is not known how many permits municipalities currently issue, with fewer permits being issued by municipalities now because of the statutory change last year, the bill includes an Other Special Revenue Funds allocation of $253,814 to the DPS for one Office Associate II position, one State Police Detective position and related administrative costs to issue permits currently issued by municipalities.
	Any permit application fees that currently go to municipalities will now go to the DPS as Other Special Revenue Funds revenue. No estimate is made of the amount of revenue that will be received by the DPS. If the fee revenue is not sufficient to fund the additional allocation, the DPS will need to seek a General Fund appropriation in a subsequent budget to fully fund the positions.