TexasCHLforum.com

After about 3 messages left this week, DPS called me back today. She was very friendly, and had indicated to me that the department was extremely overworked and understaffed. She told me that shehad been waiting on the remaining background checks from other places I've lived (I've lived out-of-state within the last 5 years). After listening to her go through them, she told me that everything was clear and that she would be mailing my CHL on Monday or Tuesday.

This all sounds well and good, but thats pretty much what I was told two weeks ago when I talked to DPS, so I'm not exactly holding my breath. Assuming she sends it on Tuesday and I get it in three days, that will be 110 days doorstep to doorstep.

Anyone want to lay a wager on the over-under for this one being 120 days?

I noticed a trend in the delays of "processing" the "packets" coming into their (DPS CHL office)...

After talking with the nice folks (they really are fairly cordule, no problems at all) it became clear that (at that time) the biggest backlog was actually sorting the packets coming in the mail at the begining of the whole process...

Knowing that it doesn't take a rocket scientist to sort mail, I asked why they don't accept volunteers to come in at least once a month on a weekend to help get that part of the process under control...

They obviously said they can't, because its propriety information, blah blah blah...

I did learn that since they can't use volunteers (people like us), they do use college students from that university nearby to come in to do some of the work that doesn't require doing the background checks during that phase of the process...Somebody's got a sweetheart deal going I suppose...

Makes you wonder why it takes so long to get these permits processed...