NASHVILLE - A controversial bill that seeks to slash current training requirements as well as costs for many Tennesseans who want state-issued handgun-carry permits has been sidelined for now as proponents try to address impacts on state government finances.
House Finance Subcommittee Chairman Andy Holt, R-Dresden, last week put the bill "behind the budget," meaning it won't proceed any further until the measure's estimated revenue losses to the state are whittled down or other funding provided.
"We have other issues to address with regard to its finances," Holt told members of the panel he leads.
Tennessee handgun permits
2018* Total number of permits: 628,427* New permits, renewals, lifetime permits issued: 189,674* Permits revoked, suspended or denied: 5,4532017* Total number of permits: 604,183* New permits, renewals, lifetime permits issue: 218,536* Permits revoked, suspended or denied: 5,134Hamilton County handgun permits:2018* Total number of permits: 29,279* New permits, renewals, lifetime permits: 761* Permits revoked, suspended or denied: 2432017* Total number of permits: 28,555* New permits, renewals, lifetime permits: 959* Permits revoked, suspended or denied: 245* Source: Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security
Critics have already lambasted the bill, sponsored by Sen. John Stevens, R-Huntingdon, in the upper chamber. Their concern is the measure's goal to make it easier to get a state permit to go armed in public would dramatically slash current firearms training requirements for most Tennesseans seeking permission to go armed in public.
Under the current permitting system, 631,430 adult men and women ages 21 and older have state-issued permits that allow them to carry a handgun either openly or concealed in public. But that's only after they have taken an eight-hour live-fire training course from certified instructors, then pay for a state criminal background check as well as $100 for a permit that's good for eight years.
Holt's bill would create a two-tiered permitting system.
The existing system would be newly designated as an "enhanced handgun carry permit," under which someone could carry a handgun openly or concealed. They still would have to take the eight-hour training course, which includes live fire training, to obtain the license.
The bill then creates a new permit category: a less expensive, "concealed handgun carry permit" option. Permit holders could carry their handguns concealed but not openly in a holster or tucked in their belt. To get the conceal carry permit, applicants would not be required to take the now-mandatory eight-hour training course through a professional instructor. They would still have to pay the $100 license fee.
Those seeking the conceal carry permit could get their firearms training in several ways, including a two-hour online hunting video offered by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Critics charge there would be no license fee charged for that option.
According to a fiscal note prepared by legislative staff, the Tennessee Department of Safety over the last five years issued an average of 53,805 new handgun carry permits each year and 92,172 renewals each year.
The fiscal note say Holt's bill would decrease state revenues by more than $667,100 a year for the Department of Safety's Handgun Permit Division, which issues the permits. Losses to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which conducts the criminal background checks that include a fingerprint check, come in at more than $245,000 a year, according to analysts.
There are some additional costs, as well.
Holt has attached an amendment and is now talking about not entirely ending the $100 permit fee for the new concealed carry category but reducing it to $65.
Kat Chandler, a volunteer with the Tennessee chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and a bill critic, said "it makes it so you can [concealed carry] in public with two hours of training, including no live-fire training."
She said to "get a driver's license in this state, we require all people to pass a test demonstrating they have knowledge of road safety. And they have to drive in a car with an instructor to show they can operate a vehicle properly. And we think that the same kind of processes should be applied to firearms because they're also dangerous machinery."
Holt argues the training can be sufficiently obtained through the online video on hunting safety.
He said there is now "a push for 90-minute training, but with a test that goes along with that." It can be a paper test, Holt said.
"I'm pretty comfortable with the legislation the way it is now - and I feel pretty confident that the majority of the membership are also very comfortable - House and Senate," Holt said.
He said permit holders have been pretty responsible.
According to state Department of Safety figures, 5,453 Tennesseans in 2018 - out of more than 600,000 - had their licenses revoked, suspended or denied because of issues ranging from misdemeanor or felony arrests or convictions to failure to pay child support, which is linked to various licenses.
House co-sponsors include Speaker Glen Casada, R-Franklin, and Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland.
Sen. John Stevens, R-Huntingdon, is the Senate sponsor. Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville, is the Senate sponsor.
Asked whether Gov. Bill Lee is backing the measure, Holt said last week he can't speak for the administration.
"At this point, they have not lodged any concern that would make me believe that they are uncomfortable with the legislation," Holt said. "They may have opinions or thoughts on the legislation that may differ from my own. But nobody's come to the point that they have concerns from the administration."
On Monday, Holt peppered Tennessee Bureau of Investigation officials about the fees they charge to conduct criminal background checks.
Officials said the fees help fund their sophisticated fingerprint check system, used not just for background checks but to match fingerprints left at crime scenes.
Last week, 16-year-old Yooni Yang, of Signal Mountain, was among an estimated 300 people at the state Capitol raising concerns to lawmakers over the bill. She said she met with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Bo Watson, R-Hixson.
"He listened to a lot of our arguments but he also had his, I guess, opposing arguments," Yang said. "He was really open to us sending more research and information [to see] if we could convince him to vote our way."
Watson said Monday evening "that on any of those bills where you have a revenue stream and are eliminating it, the sponsor and those who support the legislation have to come up with a way to replace that revenue."
That can be done either by cutting somewhere else or moving to "increase revenues" either by increasing taxes or determining if there is sufficient recurring revenue growth in the existing tax base to cover the cost, he said.
As for whether he stands on the legislation, Watson said, "candidly, I haven't look that closely at the bill. It won't be before my committee until it becomes some sort of funding issue."
According to Safety Department officials, the current fee is $100 for 8 years then $50 for a renewal for 8 years. Permit holders also can purchase a "lifetime" permit for a total of $300 for 1st time permit holders, $100 for an original application and $200 for the lifetime.
Contact staff writer Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 615-255-0550. Follow on Twitter @AndySher.