Proposed legislation to allow guns to be carried on college campuses will cost Boise State University $3.5 million in the first three years of its implementation, according to a memo from Jon Uda, Director of Campus Security & Police Services.
The sole purpose of the memo, which was addressed to the Vice President of Finance and Administration and the Vice President of Campus Operations & General Counsel, was to “present our security needs assessment for Boise State University if Senate Bill 1254 is passed into law,” the memo said. The bill would allow retired police and anyone 21 or older who’s completed the state’s enhanced concealed carry training course to carry a gun on the state’s college or university campuses.
One of the greatest expenses to the campus would be the need to transition Campus Security “into a Public Safety Department that includes an armed security officer program,” the memo said. Currently, any situations involving a firearm result in a call to the Boise Police Department. The change would bring campus officers into regular contact with people carrying guns, which would require that they be trained in “good gun v. bad gun situations,” Uda said in the memo.
The Boise Police Department would also require increased funding from the university due to “anticipated demands of providing law enforcement officers for campus venue events,” the memo said.
