Senate Committee Mulls Over Conceal & Carry Funding Legislation

A Senate committee is considering legislation allowing certain restricted funds given to County Sheriffs to be used for expenses related to issuing conceal & carry gun permits. The legislation does not re-open the conceal & carry debate. Senator Jason Crowell of Cape Girardeau, the co-sponsor, points out that issue has already been settled. What he and other lawmakers are trying to do now is address the Hancock Amendment unfunded mandate concerns by allowing County Sheriffs to dip into what’s called the County Sheriff’s Revolving Fund to pay for costs associated with the issuing of the permits. Crowell doesn’t deny there’s a glitch in how the original legislation was crafted. The new legal language was arrived at following a good deal of consultation with the Attorney General’s office.