Based on conversations I've had with a number of LEA's over the past couple of years, I think a shall-issue environment such as that we seek in
Richards will gradually (and, depending on the politics, possibly more rapidly) push the process "upwards", perhaps with the local agencies handling the front end and the DOJ handling the back end of the process. Consider:
Quote:
26190. (a) (1) Each applicant for a new license or for the renewal of a license shall pay at the time of filing the application a fee determined by the Department of Justice. The fee shall not exceed the application processing costs of the Department of Justice for the direct costs of furnishing the report required by Section 26185.
***
(b) (1) The licensing authority of any city, city and county, or county may charge an additional fee in an amount equal to the actual costs for processing the application for a new license, including any required notices, excluding fingerprint and training costs, but in no case to exceed one hundred dollars ($100), and shall transmit the additional fee, if any, to the city, city and county, or county treasury.
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(Emphasis added.)
When the local agencies become not much more than an administrative function and their already cash-strapped budgets have to bear a huge number of California licensees (think 3-5% of ~28Mil on a 2 year rolling basis, any number of things might happen including (but not limited to):
* LEAs push to make DOJ the sole source.
* LEAs push to extend the license duration.
* LEAs push to remove or raise the limit on allowable fees.
As Gene often notes here and elsewhere, we're asking the various sheriffs to issue as many licenses as they can now or, alternatively, be prepared for court orders telling them to remedy their policies and practices such that non-prohibited people have real and timely access to a license - and stronger as may be required to compel the constitutional outcome. We're also putting some other bugs in a number of ears related to the above provisions of the Penal Code and bullet points.
We can't stress enough how important a CA9 win would be for all of us. It would change the game overnight.
-Brandon