By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
A Washington State House bill quietly introduced and read for the first time Jan. 13 and assigned to the House Committee on Early Learning & Human Services, and assigned a public hearing on Jan. 21 contains a bombshell for the state’s 700,000-plus concealed pistol license holders.
Buried in the text of the 18-page bill is a CPL fee hike of $100, which would boost the cost by roughly 400%.
House Bill 2456 is being promoted as a measure to establish a “juvenile firearm early intervention alternative.” Translation: It is designed to deal with juveniles who illegally use or carry firearms, and the cost for this program is being dumped on the backs of law-abiding Evergreen State gun owners. The additional $100 will go into an account created to fund this “early intervention” program.
The legislation is sponsored by six Democrats: Representatives Steve Bergquist, Lauren Davis, Roger Goodman, Gerry Pollet, Sharon Tomiko Santos, and Amy Walen.
Bergquist is chair of the committee, and Goodman is a committee member.
If the bill becomes law, Washington residents now paying $36 for their first CPL and $32 for subsequent renewals will wind up paying $136 and $132, respectively.
In an alert to Second Amendment activists, firearms instructor and advocate Jane Milhans wrote, “Punishing law-abiding CCW holders for criminal actions is WRONG!”
She encourages gun owners to call the Legislative Hotline at 800-562-6000 to urge members of the committee to reject the measure. In addition to Bergquist and Goodman, committee members are Reps. Julio Cortes, Carolyn Eslick, Brian Burnett, Adam Bernbaum, Tom Dent, Natasha Hill, Lillian Ortiz-Self, Joshua Penner and Jamila Taylor.
The bill creates this new juvenile experiment:
“NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 13.40 RCW to read as follows: (1) The juvenile firearm early intervention services account is created in the state treasury. Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation. Expenditures from the account may only be used for services or conditions identified in section 1 of this act for individuals participating in the juvenile firearm early intervention alternative described in section 1 of this act. (2) Revenues to the juvenile firearm early intervention services account consist of: (a) Moneys deposited in this account pursuant to RCW 9.41.070; and (b) Funds appropriated by the legislature or other funds from public and private sources.”
At last count by the state Department of Licensing, Washington had more than 704,000 active CPLs in circulation. Quadrupling the cost of those licenses might be seen by gun rights an d self-defense advocates as an effort to discourage people from carrying sidearms for personal protection.
