Demand for Florida concealed weapons surges, depleting fund

TALLAHASSEE — With a surge in people seeking concealed-weapons licenses, a legislative panel this week will consider approving an additional $4.34 million for processing background checks.

The Legislative Budget Commission, which is made up of House and Senate members, will consider the proposal during a Thursday meeting. The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Division of Licensing, which oversees concealed weapons licenses, requested approval of what is known as budget authority to cover a projected $4.34 million deficit.

“The Division of Licensing is experiencing the largest volume of concealed weapon license applications in the program’s history,” information prepared for the commission meeting said. “The 203,000 background checks billed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in the first six months of this year translates to an annual total of 400,000 background checks through June 30th, substantially above any prior fiscal year total.”