A.(1) The Department of Public Safety and Corrections shall assess a fee not to exceed one hundred dollars for a concealed handgun permit with a term of four years, to be submitted with the application to cover the administrative costs of the investigation and other services required to process and issue the permit. An additional fee of fifty dollars may be assessed to cover costs associated with the background check of any individual who resided outside of the state of Louisiana at any time during the fifteen years prior to submission of the application.

            (2) Whenever the applicant is sixty-five years of age or older, the fees assessed pursuant to this Subsection shall be one-half of the amount otherwise assessed by the department.

            (3) No fee authorized under the provisions of this Section shall be assessed on or collected from any law enforcement officer who is retired from full-time active law enforcement service with at least twelve years service upon retirement, nor assessed on or collected from any enforcement officer of the office of state parks, in the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism who is retired from full-time active duty as an enforcement officer provided the retired officer is annually qualified in the use of firearms by the Council on Peace Officer Standards and Training and has on his or her person proof of such qualification. This exception shall not apply to any officer who is medically retired based upon any mental impairment.

            B. Fees received by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections as authorized in this Section and fines collected pursuant to La. Rev. Stat. 40:1379.3(L) shall be deposited immediately upon receipt into the state treasury.

            C. After compliance with the requirements of La. Const. Art. VII, § 9(B) relative to the Bond Security and Redemption Fund, and prior to monies being placed in the state general fund, an amount equal to that deposited as required by Subsection B of this Section shall be credited to a special statutorily dedicated fund account hereby created in the state treasury to be known as the “Concealed Handgun Permit Dedicated Fund Account”, hereafter referred to in this Section as the “account”. The monies in the account shall be used solely as provided for in Subsection D of this Section and only in the amounts appropriated by the legislature. All unexpended and unencumbered monies in the account at the end of the fiscal year shall remain in the account. The monies in the account shall be invested by the state treasurer in the same manner as monies in the state general fund and interest earned on the investment of these monies shall be credited to the account after compliance with the requirement of La. Const. Art. VII, § 9(B) relative to the Bond Security and Redemption Fund. Monies deposited into the account shall be categorized as fees and self-generated revenue for the sole purpose of reporting related to the executive budget, supporting documents, and general appropriation bills and shall be available for annual appropriation by the legislature.

            D. The monies in the account shall be used solely for administration of the concealed handgun permit process and for special law enforcement initiatives.

            Acts 1996, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 28, §1, eff. May 7, 1996; Acts 1999, No. 1082, §1; Acts 2006, No. 589, §2; Acts 2014, No. 524, §4; Acts 2021, No. 114, §10, eff. July 1, 2022.