Oregon’s House Wednesday advanced a bill that pushes back the date when the state’s stalled gun control Measure 114 would kick in and raises the cost of gun permits and other fees.

The bill depends on whether the state Supreme Court finds the measure’s regulations constitutional.

The House voted along largely party lines 33-19 to send the bill to the Senate. Reps. Greg Smith, R-Heppner, and Dwayne Yunker, R-Grants Pass, abstained and six others were excused.

“Doing nothing risks confusion, rushes the rollouts and uneven enforcement — and that helps no one, not responsible gun owners, not law enforcement and not the communities that we are all here to serve,” Grayber said.

Measure 114, narrowly passed by voters in November 2022, requires people to get a permit to buy a gun and closes what’s called the Charleston Loophole by requiring the completion, not just initiation, of a criminal background check before getting a gun. The measure’s other major provision limits gun magazine capacity to 10 or fewer rounds.

The measure has never taken effect, blocked by an injunction issued by a Harney County judge. The Oregon Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the case last November but hasn’t ruled if the regulations adhere to the state constitution. The measure is now set to take effect March 15, provided the court rules by then and finds it meets provisions of the state constitution’s right-to-bear arms provision.

House Bill 4145 would extend the effective date to Jan. 1, 2028, increase the cost to apply for a gun permit from $65 to $150 and boost permit renewal fees from $50 to $110.

It also would extend the period before a permitting agent can issue or deny a permit from 30 days to 60 days. And it would exempt information in permit applications and background check reports from public records requests.

The amended bill, adopted by the House Judiciary Committee, no longer exempts retired law enforcement officers from the gun permit or the large-capacity magazine ban. Current state and local law enforcement officers remain exempt.

But the bill says retired local and state law enforcement officers who maintain their state police certifications don’t have to complete firearms safety training to get a permit because their status means they complete firearm qualifications annually. That exemption doesn’t apply to retired federal law enforcement officers.

Anyone who can prove they have owned a large-capacity magazine of more than 10 rounds prior to Jan. 1, 2027, or the date of a potential Supreme Court finding in favor of constitutionality — whichever comes earlier – wouldn’t face legal repercussions for possessing, using or transferring a large-capacity magazine.

Rep. Kevin Mannix of Salem and other Republican lawmakers voiced concern that federal immigration officers could obtain background information from the FBI on gun permit holders.

Rep. Sarah Finger McDonald, D-Corvallis, countered that the bill says the FBI is asked to return fingerprint cards and not keep background information on permit applicants.

“We are not creating a federal database of Oregon voters applying for permits,” said McDonald, a co-founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in Oregon.