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Committee stays Department of Safety’s enhanced handgun permit rules for 15 days amid legal and procedural questions
Summary
The Department of Safety presented updated rules for the enhanced handgun permit program (trainer/instructor standards and course requirements); members raised questions about reduced range time, instructor age, and court orders affecting 18‑year‑old permits, and the committee voted to stay the rule for 15 days.
Department of Safety staff presented revisions to the enhanced handgun safety program rules, which regulate in‑person enhanced handgun permits (classroom and range training) and instructor certification. Elizabeth Stroker, legislative director and assistant general counsel for the Department of Safety, explained the package updates 1990s‑era language and responds to statutory changes and school requests.
Key changes discussed include reducing total classroom training from eight to six hours and reducing required range time from four hours to two hours; department staff said the range portion typically does not require four hours for small classes. Members pressed on whether the rule would conflict with the agreed order in Bealer v. Long (Jan. 23, 2023) that the department issue permits to qualifying 18‑year‑olds; Department staff said they are honoring the agreed order but had not codified it in the rule text because statute has not changed.
Other concerns included instructor minimum age (rule retains a 21‑year minimum for instructors, and the department said that is intended to align with federal purchase age and experience expectations, though members asked about military veteran exceptions), juvenile record access during background checks (department said NCIC results and what juvenile records appear in background checks determine eligibility), and whether the department should add the agreed order to rule text. After debate representatives moved to stay the rule for 15 days to allow additional review; both the House and Senate recorded ayes and the clerk reported six ayes in the Senate. The chair said the rule will return to committee before its effective date.
