Legislature advances anti-scanning legislation amid DOR controversy

The state’s new drivers license system — which has prompted the Department of Revenue to make and keep electronic copies of identification documents, including birth certificates and marriage licenses — has been the subject of intense scrutiny in recent weeks.

But if the Missouri Legislature is successful in passing anti-scanning legislation, the controversy could soon become a moot point.

There are two versions of the legislation — a House bill and a Senate bill. Each bill has been approved in its originating chamber with bipartisan support, and each version is advancing through the opposite chamber.

A House committee on Monday unanimously voted to send the Senate version to the House floor, where its own version of the bill was approved in a 139-13 vote this month. Similarly, the House bill is making its way through the Senate committee process, increasing its chances of passage.

Revenue officials have defended the new policy, saying it makes Missouri licenses more secure and curbs the potential for fraudulent IDs.

But many Republican lawmakers have raised concerns over the privacy implications and the potential for identity theft. Copies of the documents are retained in a state data center in Jefferson City.

“We believe it’s a privacy issue,” said Sen. Will Kraus, R-Lee’s Summit, sponsor of the Senate bill.

Kraus noted that South Carolina’s Revenue Department was hacked last fall, compromising millions of residents’ personal data.

In Missouri, the controversy has spawned at least one lawsuit, countless hearings at the Capitol and several side issues over how the state handles residents’ private information. It also has given Republican legislators plenty of ammunition against the administration of Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon.

Amid the growing dispute, Revenue Department director Brian Long abruptly resigned this month after just four months at the post. The following day, Nixon announced the department would no longer scan documents related to concealed gun permits, as it had been doing through the new system.

But Nixon, whose office has referred questions about the drivers license system to the Revenue Department, said he would stand by the state agency as it reviewed its policies.

“Those records are used … to make sure that public safety is protected,” he said, noting that the use of such documents is common among law enforcement.

During a hearing on the effort to eliminate the document scanning, Richard McIntosh, a Jefferson City-based lobbyist representing MorphoTrust — the Georgia-based private vendor that prints Missouri’s drivers licenses — warned that the legislation could lead to unintended consequences.

“States have been capturing source (documents) since the early 80s,” he said. “They want to make sure they are issuing a license to the proper person.”

He said that barring the scanning would also make Missouri licenses less secure and could create a magnet for people who want to secure illegal IDs. He said electronic copies would aid prosecutors who want to charge people with fraud.

“Missouri is well behind the rest of the nation in what they do,” he said. “I don’t see where it hurts to have the source documents and a paper trail.”

Rep. Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, said he doesn’t think such hypothetical benefits outweigh the risks of infringing on privacy.

“At what point do we say enough intrusion is enough?” he said. “I don’t think there’s any evidence that removing the scanning requirement makes it easier to get a license.”