CGF Forces Solano County to Reduce Illegal Concealed-Carry License Fees

CGF “Sunshine Initiative” Continues to Improve License Issuance
San Carlos, CA (November 17, 2010) – The Calguns Foundation announced today that, as part of its Carry License Compliance and Sunshine Initiative, Solano County has recently agreed to modify their concealed weapon licensing fee schedule to bring it into compliance with California law.
As part of this initiative – accompanied by its carry license web portal – The Calguns Foundation has been obtaining and analyzing county information regarding license issuance statistics, policies, and processing. Upon review of Solano County’s fees, it was apparent that the County’s fee ordinance conflicted with California law. “The law is crystal clear as to what requirements sheriffs may impose upon applicants,” said Calguns Foundation board member Brandon Combs, adding, “Yet we find many California counties have numerous policy violations.”
California law permits concealed carry permit applicants to be charged up to $100 (with a maximum of $20 due prior to acceptance of applicants’ “good cause” statements); renewal applicants can be charged up to $25. Solano County’s policy, however, called for initial fees of $229 and renewal fees of $152. As such, these policies required applicants to be overcharged by $209 if their license application was denied, and overcharged by $129 if their application was approved. Renewal applicants were overcharged $127.
On October 4, 2010, CGF’s attorney, Jason Davis of Davis & Associates, submitted a pre-litigation demand letter to the Solano County Sheriff, Gary R. Stanton. This letter detailed the illegalities of Solano County's current fee structure. Upon examination of their policy and at the urging of CGF, Solano County agreed to change their fees to reflect the California statutory scheme for carry licensing.
“Solano set an example of how other counties can spare their taxpayers from needless litigation – they did the right thing once the defective policy was brought to their attention,” said Calguns Foundation's Chairman, Gene Hoffman. “Solano gets it, but we anticipate that many counties will not. It is our goal to address every one of these violations throughout California until all counties are 100% compliant in their written and actual policies.”
For those wishing to apply for a CCW permit, The Calguns Foundation maintains an informational portal to assist applicants in all 58 California counties as part of its recently announced Carry Licensing Compliance and Sunshine Initiative. The information portal is available at www.calgunsfoundation.org/carry
The Calguns Foundation ( www.calgunsfoundation.org) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization serving its members through providing Second Amendment-related education, strategic litigation and the defense of innocent California gun owners from improper prosecution. The Calguns Foundation works to educate government andprotect the rights of individuals to acquire, own and lawfully use firearms in California.
Contact:
Gene Hoffman
650-275-1015
[email protected]