TexasCHLforum.com

red2000vette wrote:A couple of comments. First, I am a retired gov't employee. My agency bent backwards to present a positive image to the public we served. If my phone rang for twenty minutes without being answered I'd have been given a swift kick in the pants by my supervisor. Couldn't be fired because, well you know, but a good kick in the pants would have been issued to me. I would at least expect to be given the courtesy of politeness over the phone once my call was answered given the fact that it RANG 3,437 TIMES.

Next, DPS does nothing with the fingerprint cards you submit with your application. They go on file. There is no FBI fingerprint check. They do the same phone based check they do when you purchase a handgun in Texas. The Texas statewide search is done on-line and it their own system so it costs them diddly squat. What does take a wee bit of time is that DPS goes out of their way make sure you are not behind in your property taxes before they issue you a CHL. What this has to do with your right protect yourself is beyond me. But hey, that's just me.

I feel that each instance where a PIN number is not issued within the 60 day window allowed by law is a cause for concern. We applied for the license in good faith with the understanding that the gov't would do what they promised in return - forget about the fact that we sent them 140.00. That's not the point. If someone felt they needed to protect themselves for specific reasons - they could be shot dead while waiting for the bureaucracy to chug along at its own chosen pace.

Believe me, there is no way the DPS is losing money on this deal. The money is going somewhere to benefit someone besides the folks who have applied for a CHL and the clerks working in the office.

This is an administrative issue that can be corrected with nothing more than good management chased by a little dose of competence.

Did you work for DPS? How did you come by this information that is contrary to everything that has been presented to everyone in numerous committees and as recently as two weeks ago?

Do you realize that, if no FBI fingerprint check is made, then the Texas CHL would not be exempt from NICS? Are you saying Texas has snookered the FBI into giving us NICS exemption without the statutorily-required FBI fingerprint check?

Texas is not the POC (Point of Contact) for firearms purchases in Texas, so by what statutory authority does Texas access the NICS database?


Expressing opinions is fine, but you are making statements of fact that are contrary to everything I know to be true, so please back them up.

Chas.

There are a lot of problems in the calculations being made concerning revenue from CHL applications that indicate a "profit" is being made. However, none of it matters because DPS does not get that money! It goes into the general fund. DPS has to run its entire agency on its current budget and as important as CHL is to me/us, it doesn't trump everything else. The legislature has to fix the problem, both with additional funding and other changes I am promoting to help reduce the man hours required to process an application. If these changes are adopted, the situation will be much better for CHLs and DPS.

I'm not saying we shouldn't be frustrated by DPS' failure to comply with the statutory time limits. I'm very upset with this situation. But we all need to focus on the cause of the problem, not the those shouldering the burden the problem causes; i.e. CHLs and the DPS.

DPS is using temps because no one is applying for the permanent positions they have available and they have to do something. The jobs are entry level clerical positions, but they even bumped up the job classifications so they can pay more, but they still can't fill the positions.

I have been highly critical of the delays, as a review of my posts on this issue will quickly reveal. I am not given to blindly defending DPS; when the agency is right I support it, when it's in the wrong I point that out. No one was more critical of the DPS's handling of reciprocity than was I and I championed taking reciprocity away from DPS and transferring it to the Attorney General's Office and the Governor's Office. On the issue of delays however, it appears that DPS is doing all they can under the current budget and statutory requirements for issuing a CHL.

As for cost v. revenue, I don't have any specific information. At full fee ($140 or $70) I seriously doubt that the State loses money on the program. However, we now have a lot of people who are not paying the full fee. Many people are only paying $35 for renewals rather than $70 and some number of people aren't paying any fee. I do know the FBI charges each submitting agency (DPS) $35 per fingerprint card to run background checks, so the senior renewal fee of $35 covers only the FBI background check and none of the work/processing done by DPS. I strongly suggest we not make fees an issue! If we do, someone's going to take a look at the true numbers and we'll be paying more for renewals.

Chas.

There's a real good chance you got one of the 12 temps. The experienced folks are working on apps. Obviously, this is just a guess, but probably a pretty good one.

Chas.