TexasCHLforum.com

infoman wrote:the 60 day thing was put in place in 2007, when they had 10 times less applications to process, and also a little thing called Hurricane Ike effected things too, that happened after 2007.

Don't make excuses for the DPS. The delays are caused by nothing other than the DPS using their "discretion" to violate the law and one of our most fundamental rights with impunity. What is it, something like 12000 applications per month? While Texas is facing budget issues all over the state and while we all face higher and higher property taxes, the DPS is wasting ever increasing amounts of our tax money to check on what? That no CHL holders are in default on student loans or taxes? That they are using their "discretion" to waste more and more money on these local checks is all the more reason to criticize them. Is it too much to ask that the new director use more discretion with regards to respecting our rights and spending our money?

Hurricane Ike had such an impact that they "had to" re-assign the one clerk assigned to do the background checks for all of Harris county, one of the most populace counties in the nation. Give me a break. Even the DPS has dropped that lame excuse long ago.

411.176(b) The director's designee as needed shall conduct an additional criminal history record check of the applicant and an investigation of the applicant's local official records to verify the accuracy of the application materials. The scope of the record check and the investigation are at the sole discretion of the department, except that the director's designee shall complete the record check and investigation not later than the 60th day after the date the department receives the application materials.

The legislature gave the DPS the discretion to do what ever local background checks they feel are necessary, as long as they complete the check in 60 days. There's plenty of room in these words for them to approve the applications just based upon the computerized checks and other tasks that the DPS can and are completing routinely in less than 60 days. There is absolutely no room for them to take longer than 60 days on any local background checks. All we need is from the new DPS director is a mandate that the department comply with the law. No extra resources are required.

Someone said this earlier:

"THE NUMBER ONE THING KILLING THEM TIME-WISE is fielding all the phone calls about where is my application."

Then there's the bit about hiring additional DPS troopers to process background checks and all this about "overwhelming" the "system" with new applications. I'm not buying any of it. All they have to do is use their discretion to define the local background checks such that all applications are completed within 60 days, and grant the licenses as required by law within 60 days. They're simply defining the local background checks such that they cannot be completed in 60 days, and the law doesn't allow them that discretion. All we need is for the new director to see to it that the DPS complies with the law just like everyone else has to.

They're canceling music and art programs in elementary schools, and yet we will now spend more money on these pointless background checks.