A Missouri House committee that spent the summer investigating the Department of Revenue (DOR) is officially accusing the state agency of breaking the law.
In its report released Friday, the Bipartisan Investigative Committee on Privacy Protection says Revenue officials and the Nixon Administration implemented parts of the federal REAL ID Act, despite a 2009 state law forbidding implementation. State Representative Stanley Cox (R, Sedalia) chairs the committee.
"The Department of Revenue adopted a system of scanning and retention of source documents," Cox said. "They acquired and they spent considerable money in obtaining biometric information on citizens, they adopted the central issuance of driver's licenses, and finally adopted what's sometimes referred to as Level Three security, which is also a feature of (the) REAL ID Act, according to the Homeland Security Secretary, Janet Napolitano."
Cox added, "All of these things are goals and standards of the REAL ID Act, which the state of Missouri has adopted since 2009." Cox discussed the report at a press conference held at the St. Charles County Sheriff's Department in O'Fallon, Mo.
The committee's recommendations include eliminating anything within the Revenue Department's budget that would allow scanning and retaining driver's license documents. That practice was halted earlier this year by Governor Jay Nixon (D). Also, members of his administration have denied breaking the 2009 law, saying that the law allowed them to take steps to make Missouri's driver's licenses more secure.
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