Over objections of committee Democrats, Republicans agreed to remove the current $35 fee charged law-abiding citizens who take out a concealed-weapons permit.
Rep. Morgan Philpot, R-Sandy, already has a bill waiting for House debate that removes the fee charged gun-buyers for a background check. Tuesday, the committee approved his bill that would remove the concealed-weapons fee, over the objections of Democrats and the Bureau of Criminal Identification, that gives the permits.
Philpot's bills would cost the state around $1 million in lost fee revenue (an amount still being debated as to its accuracy). In this cash-strapped budget year, it's unclear if legislators have any extra cash for so-called "money bills" — bills that would cost the state revenue.
Maura Carabello of Gun Violence Prevention Center said Philpot's gun background check bill dealt with the "right to bear arms," but getting a concealed-weapons permit "is a privilege, not a right."
The state charges fees for other privileges, like drivers' licenses. In addition, 6,000 out-of-state Utahns have Utah concealed-weapons permits, and doing away with the $35 original fee and $10 renewal fee means non-Utahns' permits would be subsidized by regular state taxpayers, said Natalie Rolfe, BCI director.
But Republicans on the committee weren't swayed. They voted to repeal the concealed-weapons permit fee, but the bill won't become law unless Philpot persuades other legislators to allocate funds lost in the fee repeal.