Sheriff : Etowah SRO program will be OK, financial hit limited under constitutional carry - Gadsden Times
Alabama's constitutional carry bill was signed into law last week, but Etowah County Sheriff Jonathon Horton said people need to remember it won't go into effect until 2023.
In the meantime, Horton said, work continues toward establishing a state Prohibited Persons database that will include people forbidden from carrying a firearm. Horton said that's something that will be essential without the permitting process and the background checks that are a part of it.
Under the new law, Alabama residents will not have to obtain a concealed carry pistol permit, meaning they don't have to get the background check, or pay the sheriff's office $20 to get a permit.
The $20 pistol permit fee that's been collected by the Etowah County Sheriff's Office has been split — half goes to fund school resource officers in county schools, and the rest goes for equipment or law enforcement purposes.
The sheriff's office shares the cost of SROs with the Etowah County school system and the County Commission. Horton said the sheriff's office's portion is $266,000 a year.
But Horton said he expects many people to continue to get concealed carry permits so they can legally carry their guns when they travel to other states that require permits. There are 21 states — Alabama becomes the 22nd — that have constitutional carry laws.
The sheriff said he believes the dip in income from pistol permits will be limited. He said his office should be able to deal with any decrease that it sees.
"I think financially we'll be fine," he said.
Horton said he would prefer that permits be free, but required.
Preserving the SROs at work now in county schools is important, Duck Springs Elementary School Principal Suzanne Nance said. "We don't have a municipality nearby," she said, and having a law enforcement presence on campus is a reassurance for education and families.
"They play an important role," Nance said, and not just in safety. She said the school's SRO has been able to build relationships will the students and their families.
Back-up funds
If financial loss is a problem for Etowah or other sheriff's offices, they can call on the Alabama Department of Economic Affairs for back-up, at least for four years after the law goes into effect.
The bill that authorized constitutional carry establishes in the state Treasury Department a Local Government Pistol Permit Revenue Loss Fund. The bill will appropriate $5 million annually for grants to replace lost pistol permit revenue, or as much as is required to keep a $2 million balance in the fund.
Sheriffs would have to submit pistol permit sales totals from 2022 and 2023 to seek grants. The grants would not exceed the pistol permit sales revenue for 2022.
Only sheriffs who certify that background checks were performed for each permit sold would be eligible for grants. Also, the section of the law that establishes the fund is set to repeal in four years, with any leftover funds going back to the state's general fund.
Database
Legislation last year called for the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency to establish and maintain a database of people forbidden to possess firearms. Convicted felons and people who've been adjudicated by courts as mentally ill would be included on the list.
The bill's supporters last year said that courts would report the information to update the database.
The legislation called for establishment of the database by October 2022. Horton said ALEA has contracted with a software company to develop the database, but now it's expected to be completed in 2023.
Contact Gadsden Times reporter Donna Thornton at 256-393-3284 or [email protected].
source: https://www.gadsdentimes.com/story/news/local/2022/03/20/sheriff-sro-program-ok-despite-change-pistol-permit-law/7007585001/
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