DPS is SWAMPED
I have been hearing from my March and April students that they haven’t gotten their licenses yet. According to a local radio news story, the DPS is experiencing a tremendous surge in new applicants, up more than 40% over this time last year. One of my students called down there twice, and was told that they are just now getting around to opening the packets that arrived in late March.
OUCH! That means they’ve already busted the 60-day statutory requirement for giving an answer to the application! But it’s not their fault, and it’s not your fault (or my fault). They are simply overwhelmed by the unexpected workload.
I have also heard from some renewal students who have not received their renewal licenses in time. If you are up for renewal DO NOT PUT IT OFF, but get the application and course done as soon as you can.
One other little detail: After 7 years of having a fingerprint reject rate well under 1%, all of a sudden the DPS is rejecting a large portion of my ink-rolled fingerprints. I am now urging all of my students to take advantage of the $10 digital fingerprinting service offered by the range where I teach. They’ve been pushing everybody to go digital for a while now.
There isn’t a whole lot I can do about it other than hope that our legislature approves some more funding for the horribly under-funded CHL program. In that regard, I don’t have any special pull with the legislature — you might help out by sending a (politely worded) request to your local legislator to please increase the funding for the DPS CHL program.