The NRA is asking that Assembly Bill 282, introduced by Assembly Speaker John Oceguera (D-16), be amended on the Senate floor to add back in the $25.00 non-refundable fee that sheriffs can charge on right to carry permit renewals.
The amended language in AB 282 states that the sheriffs can charge "the actual cost to obtain the reports required pursuant to subsection of NRA 202.356" is troublesome in that it doesn't define what "actual cost" really is. Circulating around the state Capitol is a memorandum written by the Nevada Legislative Counsel (which was requested by Speaker Oceguera to counter the gun community's concerns) that recites the administrative requirements for which the sheriff may charge the fee and concludes that since only these administrative requirements may be included within the fee, the fee is effectively "capped" so the current $25.00 is not necessary.
However, the NRA has concluded that what could be included as part of the "actual costs" for these things is not defined or limited by the legislative language. Thus, the "cap" is limited only by the ability of a sheriff to justify an expense by reference to how it supports one of these administrative requirements. This includes matters within the sheriff's own discretion, such as whether these administrative requirements mean new staffing, new computers, new infrastructure, etc.
The current language in AB 282 is likely to result in different fees being charged in different counties for the same things, depending on how efficiently a given sheriff's office operates!
AB 282 is scheduled to be heard on Third Reading this Wednesday, May 25. Please contact your state Senator immediately and ask him or her to support an amendment to restore the $25.00 non-refundable fee in AB 282 or vote to oppose it in its current form. Contact information for your state Senator can be found here.
While there are many issues to support in AB 282, the NRA can't turn a blind eye to what this could cost Nevada's gun owners, nor should those issues be used as a means to get gun owners to submit to a fee increase.
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