AZ taxpayers may foot bill for others to take firearms course

PHOENIX — Arizona taxpayers could be on the hook to help convince adults to get state permits to carry concealed firearms.

Members of the House Ways and Means Committee voted 5-4 Monday to give individuals a dollar-for-dollar income tax credit for the cost of the required course, up to $80. House Majority Leader Steve Montenegro, sponsor of HB 2494, said it will encourage people who already can carry a concealed firearm without any training to attend the eight-hour course.

The Litchfield Park Republican said police officers have told him the first-line of defense for citizens is someone who has been trained in the use of a firearm. He said the training covers not just the mechanics of the firearms but also the laws about when to use it.

Despite the 5-4 vote, the measure faces an uncertain future when it goes to the full House, with cost being part of the question. Several GOP legislators who agreed to support it Monday said they don’t like the idea of dollar-for-dollar tax credits for anything.

Rep. Bruce Wheeler, D-Tucson, questioned the measure’s price tag. He said if 3 million adults who don’t already have CCW permits all take advantage of the credit, that pencils out to $240 million.

Montenegro, however, was relying on an estimate from legislative budget staffers who said this should cost no more than $1.9 million next year — and presumably the same amount every year going forward.

That’s based on the fact that about 32,000 people got CCW permits last year. Legislative staffers figured that the pace would remain the same in the future, and only 75 percent of those taking the course would seek reimbursement on their tax forms.

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All that, however, presumes the pace would remain the same even if the effective cost went from $80 to zero.

Montenegro brushed aside the whole cost question as irrelevant.

“You can’t really put a price on safety,” he said. His legislation is prospective only, and would not help anyone who already has taken the course.

Montenegro, who has such a permit, said the course teaches important things.

“They really instill in you not only how the firearm works, the components of the firearms, but also what the laws say, what safety is, what to do, what not to do, how to treat firearms,” he told committee members. Montenegro said that includes when not to use a gun.

At last count, the Arizona Department of Public Safety said there were 253,279 individuals who had taken the courses and qualified for the permits.

While any adult can carry a concealed weapon, having that permit grants the holder certain rights that are not available to others, such as the ability to bring it into a place where alcoholic beverages are served, though they have to agree not to drink. Potentially more significant, it allows someone with an Arizona CCW permit to also carry a gun in other states with more restrictive laws.