The County Clerk's Office continues to deal with a surge in work related to pistol permits, County Clerk Michael Cianfrini told the Legislature's Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday during a department review.
From 2009 through 2012, the office handled an average of 206 new pistol permits and 1,400 amendments to permits (adding or removing guns). In 2016, there were 671 new permits issued and 3,190 amendments. In 2017, the office is on track to issue 450 new permits and handle 3,800 amendments.
Much of the new pistol permit work is a result of the SAFE Act. Anybody who had a permit issued before 2013 must recertify their permit by 2018.
The amendments are being driven by the need to correct the record on what pistols permit holders still own.
And that can be time-consuming.
"We have permit holders looking to remove guns they perhaps sold in the 1980s," Cianfrini said. "A lot of times they don't know when they sold it or where they sold it. Our pistol clerk has to try and track down those guns and find out when they were sold, where they were sold and where they're registered now."
It's a lot of extra work and there's no state reimbursement for the staff time.
Among the other news out of the department, many of the forms and documents that people need to file with the County Clerk's Office can now be filed electronically. That's especially helpful, Cianfrini noted, for people living out of the county or out of state.
In about six months, the office will also be able to accept electronic filings of documents in civil litigation.
Cianfrini also displayed for legislators two Donate Life trophies. This is the second year in a row the county's Department of Motor Vehicles has won the small- and medium-county division of the state's competition for signing up the most people to become organ donors.
"It's something we’re very proud of," Cianfrini said. "My staff takes it very seriously. They really try to push it and so far we’ve been successful."
