Unfortunately, Skiprr is correct about the law. This needs to be corrected in 2007, so that there is a "time definite" from receipt of the application by the DPS CHL Unit, until issuance of the license. If DPS is still waiting reports from some local units, that should be treated as an internal problem. The license should be issued NLT the 60th calendar day after receipt, if no information has been received that would justify denying the license. If subsequent processing reveals justification for denial, then revoke the license.Skiprr wrote:Government Code Sections 411.176 and 411.177 are the ones you want. There is a common confusion about the terminology; the term "department" is used to reference both the DPS and the local law enforcement office. They could make that less ambiguous.
From date of receipt, DPS has 30 days to forward the application to the "designee in the geographical area of the applicant's residence." That designee has 60 days to conduct an additional criminal history check and an investigation of the applicant's local records [this is clarified in 411.177 (b)].
The sections state that DPS must, not later than the 60th day after the date of receipt "by the director's designee of the completed application materials," meaning your local law enforcement office:
- Issue you the license
- Notify you are denied
- Notify you that a determination will require additional time, tell you the reason, and provide you an estimate of the time
I think a lot of folks make the mistake of thinking 60 days from date of receipt in Austin is the demarc. It ain't. It's technically 90 days from that date because the "director's designee" has 60 days.
Section 411.177 goes on to say, "Failure of the department to issue or deny a license for a period of of more than 30 days after the department is required to act under Subsection (b) constitutes denial." So that means that if DPS doesn't tell you squat after 120 days, it means, de facto, denial of license.
In previous discussion about this, some are concerned that this might jeopardize the Texas CHL status as as NICS bypass. I'm not sure how ATF decides which licenses qualify, but I'm pretty sure that if a 2 minute phone call to NICS can get a "proceed", then the CHL process should be sufficient if DPS can't find a reason to deny after 60 days.
Kevin