If Missouri legislators are successful in overriding Gov. Bob Holden's veto of a concealed weapons bill, sheriff's departments would have 30 days to gear up for the law.

One sheriff's official says that doesn't allow much time to put procedures in place and get staffers trained to handle the applications.

"We would want at least until the beginning of the year to start issuing permits," Capt. Phil Moran of the Jackson County Sheriff's Department said. "Three to six months is necessary to get any new program up and running."

One day before legislators are expected to take up the override attempt, supporters still are hopeful they can come up with the necessary votes in the Senate. They are confident they will succeed in the House.

Twenty-three votes are needed in the Senate, and it could come down to several senators. One of them is Sen. Jon Dolan, a Lake St. Louis Republican, who was still in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Monday.

Dolan, who voted for the original bill, is serving with the Army National Guard as a public affairs officer. He told The Kansas City Star in July that he would not be able to attend the veto session.

On Monday, he said he might.

"I am doing what I can to return but I still don't know," Dolan said Monday in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. He said he wouldn't return until the bill had passed the House and it was clear that his vote was needed in the Senate.

Sheriffs in each county would issue the permits after taking fingerprints and getting background checks from the Missouri Highway Patrol and the FBI. If the experience of other states with concealed weapons laws are an indication, sheriff's departments could expect to be busy.

In Jackson County, the sheriff's department is projecting that it would receive 6,000 concealed carry permits in the first year after a concealed carry law takes effect.

Moran said the estimate is based on the 5,000 to 6,000 permits the office issues every year for Jackson County residents to purchase handguns. To handle the increased workload, the office would need two additional clerks and two additional dispatchers, he said.

Jim Vermeersch, executive director of the Missouri Sheriffs' Association, said sheriffs had hoped lawmakers would allow them to charge more than the $100 maximum allowed. He said it costs sheriffs $38 to send background checks through the Missouri Highway Patrol and the FBI.

"We are very sensitive about all these additional duties (placed upon sheriffs) without additional compensation," Vermeersch said.

Moran said lawyers would have to review the new law to determine sheriffs are following the correct procedures. For example, lawyers would have to determine whether permit revocations would be handled administratively or through the courts, Moran said.

Dispatchers would perform criminal background checks on each applicant through national, state and local computer databases, he said. Applications would have to be reviewed to ensure applicants had received the required training.

"We're gearing up on paper," Moran said. "But we really can't take any steps until it passes."

A survey of other states shows that Missouri could expect a large number of permit applications initially, then the number would fall dramatically after the first year.

Among the most recent states to pass a weapons law was Minnesota, which began issuing permits May 28. In Hennepin County, the largest county in Minnesota, almost 2,000 people have applied for permits.

"It was kind of a rush, and now it has leveled off," said Capt. Patrick Moe of the county sheriff's department, which issues the permits.

Thirty-five states have concealed carry laws similar to the Missouri proposal, half of them coming in the past 12 years, according to the National Rifle Association.

In Arkansas, 46,061 permits are in effect, said spokesman Bill Sadler of the Arkansas State Police, which issues them. About 300 applications are received monthly, about one-fifth of the initial number, he said.

Oklahoma has 41,428 permits issued, said Jessica Brown of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. Permits must be renewed after five years and 7,009 permit holders did not renew them, Brown said. Only 22 permits have been revoked.

Other states also report significant nonrenewals of permits. Among the reasons cited are costs, paperwork, the discomfort of carrying a gun and the work involved in keeping it clean.

"It's like a new car. There's a novelty involved," said Dale Schmid of the Second Amendment Coalition of Missouri, a proponent. "After a while, it wears off."

The Kentucky State Police issued 88,547 permits since the law passed in 1996, Sgt. Phil Crumpton said. In the first full year of the law, 29,282 persons applied. Last year the number was 10,814, he said.

Missouri would have reciprocity with other states that have concealed weapons laws, meaning permits would be honored in those states. But permits would not be recognized in states such as Kansas, which bans concealed weapons.

Kansas Highway Patrol Capt. Kent Dean said guns could be carried in view under state law, but that is illegal under some local laws. The best advice for people who carry guns is to stow the gun unloaded in the trunk, he said.

If the Missouri bill becomes law, anyone at least 23 years old could apply for a concealed weapons permit if he or she is a U.S. citizen and has lived in Missouri for at least six months, or was a member of the military.