Topeka ? The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is taking a neutral stance on a House bill that would allow Kansas residents to carry concealed weapons, but it is strongly opposed to being in charge of issuing permits for them to do so.

Opponents of the bill told the House Federal and State Affairs Committee on Wednesday that allowing concealed weapons would put more handguns on the street and create the potential for more violence and deadly accidents.

And while the KBI isn’t taking a stand on concealed weapons, Assistant Atty. Gen. Kyle Smith, who’s also a special KBI agent, said the KBI had neither the resources nor expertise to become a licensing agency.

“We’re not an administrative law agency and not entirely excited about becoming an administrative law agency,” Smith told the committee. “We’d like this to pass us by, if possible.”

In 1997, both the House and Senate approved a concealed-carry measure, but then-Gov. Bill Graves vetoed it. A similar proposal in 1999 didn’t pass in the House and didn’t make it past the committee stage in the Senate.

Smith said the current legislation was better than previous bills that would allow concealed weapons, but that the KBI had concerns, nonetheless. Among those is the startup cost to administer the permit process, which under the bill is supposed to be self-supporting.

Applicants for a concealed-weapon permit would pay a $150 license fee to the local sheriff, whose department would fingerprint the applicant and forward that and other documents to the KBI for a criminal background check.

The sheriff’s office would keep $40 of the fee and send $110 to the KBI. Under the bill, the KBI is required to provide a concealed-carry permit to all applicants who qualify.

Kelly Johnston, a Wichita attorney, said proponents of the bill had not proven that there was a need for a concealed-carry law in Kansas. The state’s crime rate has been going down since 1993, he said, including during the time since Graves vetoed the 1997 version.

“Our law enforcement officials are not in need of citizen-vigilantes to help enforce the law,” Johnston said.

Proponents of the measure are scheduled to testify before the committee today.

The concealed-carry measure is HB 2798.