A bill reducing fees for License to Carry permits has been passed by the full Texas Senate.
Senate Bill 16 is authored by state Sen. Robert Nichols (R-Jacksonville), and it would cut $100 off the initial cost for obtaining a handgun license.
Texas Law Shield Independent Program Attorney Gordon Cooper said, “State Senator Robert Nichols originally wanted to scrap the entire $140 fee for first-time licenses to carry concealed and holstered handguns, as well as the $70 charge to renew licenses after five years.”
Instead, Nichols (R-Jacksonville) introduced a modified version reducing the first-time and renewal fee to $40 each. It passed the Senate by a 26-5 vote and heads to the House next.
“The Senate State Affairs Committee then unanimously moved Nichols’ amended proposal to the full Senate chamber, where it passed easily by a vote of 26-5. It would reduce the initial handgun license fee from $140 to $40, and the renewal fee for a license from $70 to $40,” Cooper said.
“I can’t imagine any license holder or aspiring license holder who would not want this to pass,” Cooper said, “because our state’s LTC fees are among the nation’s highest. There should not be a financial barrier to being able to protect yourself.”
“This would take Texas from one of the highest fees in the nation to one of the lowest fees in the nation,” Nichols said. He added that only two states currently have a higher fee: Illinois and Arkansas.
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