OSBI has 90 days to act - one way or the other
The OSBI is required to either approve or deny your license within 90 days from when they receive the application material from the Sheriff (21 O.S. 1290-12(A)(12)). If you don't want to call OSBI immediately, you can estimate that date if the Sheriff will tell you when they sent it.
If you're getting up around 90 days from when you submitted it to the Sheriff, and haven't heard anything, or if you know for a fact that OSBI has had it for over 90 days, here’s my suggested letter to the Oklahoma Attorney General, Scott Pruitt:
xxxxxxxxx
Mr. Attorney General,
I am writing you in order to solicit the assistance of your office, in connection with the apparent failure of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) to comply with the directives of the Oklahoma Legislature, with respect to their duties as set forth in the Oklahoma Self-Defense Act (SDA). Specifically, the OSBI is failing to either deny or approve applications for Oklahoma Concealed Handgun Licenses (CHL’s) within 90 days of their receipt of the application material, as required by Oklahoma statute. Such failure is not authorized by Oklahoma statute, and is contrary to law.
On (insert date here), I submitted a properly completed application for an Oklahoma Concealed Handgun License to (to whom ?) by (insert how it was submitted – registered mail, etc.). (Insert any additional details necessary to establish a complete timeline of your application process, particularly the date the OSBI received it, and how you know when they received it.)
On (insert date here), which was (XXX) days after the OSBI received my application material, I contacted the OSBI to inquire as to the status of my application. I was informed by OSBI employee (insert name here) by (phone, e-mail, letter, etc.) that (insert what you were told, when the app was expected to be processed, etc.).
The result of this is that, some (XXX) days after the OSBI received my application material from Sheriff (XXXX), my application has been neither approved nor denied by the OSBI. This is in contravention of Oklahoma statute, and is contrary to the clear mandate of the Oklahoma Legislature.
(If you have been personally informed of any other applicants whose applications have been similarly delayed, you may choose to make reference to those instances as well, using names only with permission, of course.)
Like all state agencies, the OSBI has only that specific authority granted to it by the Oklahoma Legislature. Oklahoma Statutes set forth the authority of the OSBI in connection with applications for CHL’s:
21 O.S. 1290.12 (A):
12. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation shall either issue a concealed handgun license or deny the application within ninety (90) days of the date of receipt of the required information from the sheriff. The Bureau shall approve an applicant who appears to be in full compliance with the provisions of the Oklahoma Self-Defense Act, if completion of the federal fingerprint search is the only reason for delay of the issuance of the handgun license to that applicant. Upon receipt of the federal fingerprint search information, if the Bureau receives information which precludes the person from having a concealed handgun license, the Bureau shall revoke the concealed handgun license previously issued to the applicant. The Bureau shall deny a license when the applicant fails to properly complete the application form or application process or is determined not to be eligible as specified by the provisions of Section 1290.9, 1290.10 or 1290.11 of this title. The Bureau shall approve an application in all other cases.
(Emphasis added)
The above statutory provision is very clear. The OSBI has 90 days from the date it received the application material from the sheriff to “either issue a concealed handgun license or deny the application”. This is not in any manner discretionary on the part of the OSBI – the 90-day period is mandatory (‘SHALL either issue…or deny”).
Furthermore, the statute does NOT authorize the OSBI to deny an application simply because it could not timely process the application within the specified 90-day period. The OSBI may only deny the application if it receives information precluding the applicant from being issued a CHL. If the process is not completed within 90 days of receiving the application material from the sheriff, the statute directs the OSBI to issue the license, and provides the OSBI may revoke it if the OSBI receives information which, if known, would have precluded the applicant from having a CHL (“…the [OSBI] shall approve an application in all other cases”).
The OSBI may be under a mistaken impression that it is somehow entitled under law to ignore the Oklahoma Legislature’s 90-day time limit imposed upon them under 21 O.S. 1290-12(A)(12), and that it may issue or deny such applications in their own good time. The Legislature made very clear the limited authority of the OSBI in this respect:
§21-1290.3 - AUTHORITY TO ISSUE LICENSE
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is hereby authorized to license an eligible person to carry a concealed handgun as provided by the provisions of the Oklahoma Self-Defense Act, Sections 1 through 25 of this act. The Bureau's authority shall be limited to the provisions specifically provided in the Oklahoma Self-Defense Act. The Bureau shall promulgate rules, forms and procedures necessary to implement the provisions of the Oklahoma Self-Defense Act.
(Emphasis added)
21 O.S. 1290-3 makes clear that the OSBI’s authority with respect to CHL applications is limited to those specific provisions in the Oklahoma Self-Defense Act. No provision of that act permits the OSBI to exceed the statutory 90-day restriction contained in 21 O.S. 1290-12(A)(12). Therefore, by law, the OSBI MUST either approve or deny an application no later than 90 days after receipt of the application from the Sheriff, subject of course to later revocation if negative information is obtained.
Your office’s website contains the following quote:
“…Establishing and respecting the Rule of Law is a hallmark of Attorney General Pruitt’s administration….”.
I am asking that your office encourage the OSBI to similarly respect the Rule of Law, as set forth by the Oklahoma Legislature, and that they establish procedures, as required by 21 O.S. 1290-3, which will insure that the will of the Legislature is followed, and that all Oklahoma CHL applications are either denied or approved “…within ninety (90) days of the date of receipt of the required information from the sheriff…”. The job of the OSBI is to carry out its duties, as those duties are prescribed and limited by the Oklahoma Legislature. Their current actions are beyond the scope of the authority provided them under law.
I thank you in advance for your assistance. Please feel free to contact me for any additional information you may require.
Xxxxx
I would suggest you also copy this letter to your state legislators, and ask them to follow up with the A.G. and the OSBI.
If any Oklahoma resident has any corrections or observations to make about my suggested correspondence, by all means, weigh in. However, the statute seems pretty clear to me, and my guess is the OSBI, just like any other governmental agency, will keep on delaying as long as they are permitted to get away with it. I can understand they are busy – lots of law-abiding folks want their CHL these days. However, the statute says what it says. They have to act within 90 days. Period. If they can't process it within 90 days of receipt, they have to issue it. They can always revoke it later if they find they should not have issued it in the first place. At least, that's my take on things.....
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THIS POST SHOULD BE INTERPRETED AS CONSTITUTING LEGAL ADVICE
