“It shouldn’t be getting to the point where it’s as cheap as a six pack or something like that,” Martin said of the fee.

Martin ran for the Livingston District Board of Supervisors seat last year, but lost to Republican Greg Benton.

The fee includes $10 collected by the circuit court and $5 for the Virginia State Police to process the application. The $10 court fee is required by Virginia law; a state senator’s proposal to make it optional died in a committee during this year’s General Assembly session.

Yakabouski’s proposal would eliminate the most expensive portion of the fee—$35 for the Sheriff’s Office to conduct mandatory background checks. State law doesn’t require a charge for the background checks, though it caps the amount at $35.

Sheriff’s Maj. Carter Wells said the department will have to continue doing the checks regardless of what happens with the fee. The charge generates about $50,000 annually for the county’s general fund, he said.

Wells said he’s “somewhat indifferent” to reducing the fee, but added, “I don’t understand why they would pick this one over any other.”