House Rejects License Fee Amendment

On Friday, May 2, 2008 the House of Representatives voted down GOAL's budget amendment to reduce the firearm license fees. In a close vote 76 to 83, the budget amendment did not prevail. GOAL would like to thank those who supported our efforts to do away with the unfair tax on our civil rights. (Click here to view the roll call on this vote.) We will also be seeking a Senate sponsor to file the amendment to that budget when appropriate.

Below is the report of the vote as given by the State House News Service:

FID CARD: At 6:21 pm, Rep. Peterson offered amendment 1116.

Rep. Peterson said this reduces the fee for firearms licenses and expands the length of time a license is good for.  Since 1998, when we created a new system and increased fees and requirements we have spent a lot of money on putting infrastructure in place to process licenses in an efficient manner.  The bulk of the infrastructure is in place.  The fee is $100 per license for every five or six years, depending on your birthday.  In Rhode Island it’s $40.  In New Hampshire it’s $10.  This drops our fee to $40 and reduces the state share to $15. I have a problem paying this kind of money for my constitutional right.  The other change is to extend the license to a full six years for everyone.

Rep. Peterson secured support for a roll call.

Rep. O’Flaherty said reducing fees at a time when the budget is strained is probably not best.  I had questions about the law and the legislative process is the way to address the issue.  This is probably not the most effective way to deal with the issue but members would work with you.  Some police chiefs have indicated a bureaucratic nightmare.  I do not carry a firearm or have a license but I respect the right.  I hope the amendment is not adopted in this form.

Rep. Humason said I support the Second

Amendment.  This should be considered.  This was a cash grab to raise the fees.  I am willing to work with the chairman.  This is different from the typical fee and it is tied to the Second Amendment.  Charlton Heston recently passed away and he was our ex-officio president.  I was taught at a young age about gun safety.

BY A ROLL CALL VOTE OF 75-80, AMENDMENT REJECTED (Actual Vote 76 - 83)

LATE VOTES ON FIREARMS AMENDMENT: Reps. Rogers, Scaccia and Provost all received consent to vote late on the firearms roll call and they all voted no.  Rep. Bosley voted yes.

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Action Alert: GOAL Files Amendment to House Budget to Reduce Firearm License Fees

This amendment has received a Floor Number from the House Clerk's Office.

#1116

The House is beginning debate on the budget Monday, April 28.

Please contact your local House Representative and ask them to support Amendment #1116 and end the Taxation of Civil Rights!

Representative George Peterson has filed an amendment to the House FY2009 Budget regarding Firearms License Fees.  This amendment reduces the current fees from $100 to $40 bringing Massachusetts in line with the rest of the New England states. The amendment does not reduce non-resident fees, but does extend the non-resident license to six years.

Please contact your legislator and ask them to sign on to Representative Peterson's FY2009 House Budget amendment. Legislators only have until Friday, April 19, 2009 to sign on to the amendment so please act quickly!

Below are some talking points and the budget amendment language:

Chapter 140, Section 131 (i) of the Massachusetts General Laws states the fee for a license to carry firearms is $100 and is valid for five or six years, depending on the citizen’s date of birth. The same fees apply to a Firearm Identification Card under Chapter 140, Section 129B. Many towns in the Commonwealth are not using the State approved license application, and most are practicing illegal licensing activities by asking for letters of reference, a note from a physician, and even requiring the applicant to belong to a local gun club.  Paying $100 a year to a broken system that has no interest in helping the average citizen seems outrageous. 

While it is bad enough that lawful citizens have to be licensed to practice their civil rights, a $100 fee is simply a blatant tax on those rights. Many Massachusetts families simply cannot afford the fees set by the Commonwealth and are forced to give up their rights. Even a small family that hunts or takes part in the shooting sports may be forced to spend $400 - $500 to obtain firearm licenses for the family. This cost doesn’t even include the expense of a hunting license.

Other New England States charge the following for a license to carry firearms:

Rhode Island              $40, good for four years

Connecticut                $35, good for five years

Maine                         $35, good for four years

New Hampshire          $10, good for four years

                                 $120

The total of these four states is only $20 more than one Massachusetts license.

Since the passage of the 1998 Gun Control Act, the number of licensed gun owners in Massachusetts has been decreased from 1,500,000 to approximately 240,000.  The $100 licensing fee no doubt was a large factor in this decline.  Lowering the fee will likely allow more citizens to obtain a License to Carry Firearms or Firearm Identification Card and thereby increasing collected revenues.

Please sign on to the important budget amendment and end the unjust taxation of our civil rights!

 Budget Amendment Language:

Section 129B of Chapter 140 shall be amended by deleting paragraph (9A) and replacing it with the following: -

(9A) Except as provided in clause (9B), the fee for an application for a firearm identification card shall be $40, which shall be payable to the licensing authority and shall not be prorated or refunded in the case of revocation or denial. The licensing authority shall retain $25 of the fee; $15 of the fee shall be deposited in the General Fund; and Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, licensing authorities shall deposit quarterly that portion of the firearm identification card application fee which is to be deposited into the General Fund, not later than January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1 of each year.

Section 131of Chapter 140 shall be amended by deleting paragraph (i) and replacing it with the following: -

(i) A license to carry or possess firearms shall be valid, unless revoked or suspended, for a period of not more than 6 years from the date of issue and shall expire on the anniversary of the licensee’s date of birth occurring not less than 5 years but not more than 6 years from the date of issue, except that if the licensee applied for renewal before the license expired, the license shall remain valid for a period of 90 days beyond the stated expiration date on the license, unless the application for renewal is denied. Any renewal thereof shall expire on the anniversary of the licensee’s date of birth occurring not less than 5 years but not more than 6 years from the effective date of such license. Any license issued to an applicant born on February 29 shall expire on March 1. The fee for the application shall be $40, which shall be payable to the licensing authority and shall not be prorated or refunded in case of revocation or denial. The licensing authority shall retain $25 of the fee; $15 of the fee shall be deposited into the general fund of the commonwealth and not less than $50,000 of the funds deposited into the General Fund shall be allocated to the Firearm Licensing Review Board, established in section 130B, for its operations and that any funds not expended by said board for its operations shall revert back to the General Fund. For law enforcement officials, or local, state, or federal government entities acting on their behalf, the fee for the application shall be set at $25, which shall be payable to the licensing authority and shall not be prorated or refunded in case of revocation or denial. The licensing authority shall retain $12.50 of the fee, and $12.50 of the fee shall be deposited into the general fund of the commonwealth. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, licensing authorities shall deposit such portion of the license application fee into the Firearms Record Keeping Fund quarterly, not later than January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1 of each year. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, licensing authorities shall deposit quarterly such portion of the license application fee as is to be deposited into the General Fund, not later than January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1 of each year. For the purposes of section 10 of chapter 269, an expired license to carry firearms shall be deemed to be valid for a period not to exceed 90 days beyond the stated date of expiration, unless such license to carry firearms has been revoked.

Section 131F of Chapter 140 shall be amended by striking the word “one” after the words in the second paragraph “Such license shall be valid for a period of” and replacing it with the following:- “six”