Colorado: "Teck may try to kill gun background check fee"

[cuchulainn]

from the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/newsfd/auto/feed/news/2003/03/31/1049118353.00353.8997.5891.html

03.31.03
Teck may try to kill gun background check fee
By MICHAEL C. BENDER The Daily Sentinel
DENVER — State Sen. Ron Teck is considering killing a recommendation to add a $10 fee to background checks because of the volume of complaints he’s received from western Colorado.

The Joint Budget Committee recommendation has yet to be considered by the Legislature.

“Without this bill, it will cause a longer wait for people buying guns because we’ll have to look at laying off state employees,†the Grand Junction Republican said. “I’d rather shore up the state budget and not wait for my gun, but I seem to be in the minority.â€

Teck, as a member of the state Joint Budget Committee, has been working on the state’s 2003-2004 budget for the past month. With revenues projected to slump for the third year in a row, the committee is exploring all avenues to cut expenses and increase income.

One opportunity the budget committee identified was creating a $10 fee for background checks. The fee would generate about $1.4 million for the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1.

But gun advocates have slammed Teck and the budget committee staff with phone calls opposing the fee.

“Sen. Teck has been very supportive (of gun rights) in most areas,†said Linn Armstrong, a board member of the Grand Junction-based Pro-Second Amendment Committee. The group, which had its 13th annual meeting Saturday, includes between 150 and 200 members.

“But I’m surprised the state of Colorado would try to balance the state budget on the back of gun owners exercising their constitutional right.â€

The background check fee is part of the budget committee’s recommendation for the 2003-2004 budget, which is scheduled to be introduced in the Legislature today as Senate Bill 258.

The budget proposal includes $5.5 billion for the General Fund, an increase of about 1.6 percent over the current budget. The budget, however, includes nearly $204 million in cuts to 31 programs.

The proposed budget also includes fee increases for 12 other programs other than the background check.

Colorado is one of 25 states that operates their own background check program. Other states rely on a federally funded program.

Of the states that provide their own background checks, 17 states currently require a fee ranging from $2 in Illinois to $50 in New York.

Armstrong said constitutional rights should not be taxed and that he feared a future anti-gun Legislature would make such a fee so exorbitant that it would prevent many from purchasing a gun.

“Maybe they would make it $500,†Armstrong said. “What about single moms who need to protect themselves against ex-husbands? That would just give them another cost.â€

The Legislature spent several weeks this year reducing the current budget by almost $1 billion through cuts and increasing fees.

Budget committee members have blasted special interest lobbies and lawmakers who opposed cuts or fees without offering alternatives.

But Armstrong has an alternative.

He proposes giving gun owners a $50 tax break for taking gun proficiency classes and $100 for the purchase of ammunition.

When Colorado implemented its “Insta-check†background check program in 1999, the program was difficult for many gun buyers and sellers as firearms dealers encountered waits of up to an hour for approval.

In 2000, the General Assembly earmarked additional funding to hire temporary employees during peak demands of the year, such as hunting season or major gun shows.

The $10 fee was just one possibility regarding background checks that the budget committee considered.

Another was eliminating the state program completely and relying on the federal system.

A July 2002 report, however, showed the state system was much more up-to-date. The report showed the CBI had 90,823 more restraining orders on its files and 2,800 more domestic violence offenders.

{M4Michael C. Bender can be reached via e-mail at mcbender@yahoo. com.
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