Changes to CHL law passed with budget

Written by Daniel White

Tuesday, 14 July 2009 07:57

The new budget passed today and expected to be signed into law by Governor Strickland contained several provisions amended into HB 1-CC4594 make changes to Ohio's concealed carry laws.

The most prominent of these will raise the fee for a new concealed handgun license from $55 to $67, but will drop the price for a renewal to $50. These changes reflect the fact that the BCI fee for the full background check has increased, yet a renewal background check need only be conducted from the date the previous check was conducted and is therefore less expensive. As part of this change, a new renewal application will be created by statute and this application will no longer require all addresses the applicant has resided at since they were 18, only dating back to the last issuance..

Another change specifies that the "AG Pamphlet" no longer needs to be printed and handed out to applicants, only made available online. This cost saving measure will eliminate both printing costs and the cost of shipping the pamphlets to Ohio's 88 sheriffs.

A third change is of particular interest to competitive shooters specifies that "ammunition held in stripper-clips or in en-bloc clips is not considered ammunition that is loaded into a magazine or speed loader." This is a positive change and will be well received by many competitive rifle shooters.

There is also a specification that an expired license be accepted as prima-facie evidence that a person at one time took the training required for purposes of renewal. This was an issue with some CHL holders who tried to renew yet had to make appointments that took them beyond the expiration date of their license.

OFCC was aware of these proposed changes and supports them. While a fee increase for obtaining a concealed handgun license is never welcomed, it is important to note that the real cost to the sheriffs increased for the initial background check. The accompanying changes requiring the modified background check and the fee to decrease for renewals will save money in the long run. Overall, many of these changes will result in decreased fees to Ohioans and decreased cost to Ohio to administer the program.