So, in essence, what all of this means is there is no State of Pennsylvania Concealed Carry Permit, it is an individual county permit, and the State just goes along with "what ever". The State has no real control of their Permits. Is that right?
It can get confusing, perhaps complicated.
The state controls the cost of the LTCF. $20.00
The application for License To Carry Firearm is used statewide. The LTCF is administered by the county sheriff. By law, each sheriff is to process the applications. (Philadelphia County is handled by their Police Department) Not all sheriffs comply and refuse to accept applications from non-residents (those not residing in PA. PA residents must apply in the county in which they reside). I have read of the threat of legal action has convinced one sheriff to make an exception to his "Non acceptance of non-resident applications."
Some sheriff's are 2nd A friendly, other are not.
By law, once the application has been submitted, the sheriff has 45 days to approve or disapprove. A bone of contention has been a misreading by some as 45 business days as to the actual 45 days, which is calendar days.
The commonwealth has some control. The sheriffs have some control.
Rick