Gov. Jay Nixon and the Department of Revenue announced Tuesday that the department would stop keeping electronic copies of Missourians’ concealed carry weapons (CCW) permits when applying for a driver’s license.
Under the state’s new driver’s license system, those wishing to obtain a license must present source documents, such as birth certificates, marriage licenses, and until the announcement, CCW documents. The policy has raised cries from Republicans in the state that the scanned documents would be shared with the federal government or could be subject to identity theft.
“It has been determined that the scanning and retention of concealed carry certificates are not essential to the integrity of the license issuance process,” Nixon said in a news release. “We will continue to work with policymakers to ensure the security and privacy of our license issuance process.”
The change comes only one day after former Department of Revenue Director Brian Long tendered his resignation with Nixon amid heavy criticism from legislators.
“The Department and Governor Nixon have claimed the list of CCW holders was not shared with the federal government, but the Senate now has evidence to the contrary,” Senate President Pro Tem Tom Dempsey, R-St. Peters, said in a letter to the Revenue Department on Monday. “A list compiled by the (Department of Revenue) of approximately 163,000 Missourians with conceal carry permits was given to the Missouri Highway Patrol and subsequently shared with the federal government.”
“Not only does this action potentially violate state statue, but it compromises the identity of citizens who choose to protect themselves and their families with concealed weapons,” Dempsey said.
Long, who was appointed by Nixon in December, said the directorship “has taken a toll on me and my family that I could not have anticipated when I accepted the position,” in his resignation letter to the governor.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, has been one of the more outspoken statehouse Republicans criticizing the Revenue Department in recent weeks. In hearings last week, Schaefer threatened to cut the department’s funding for driver’s licenses if it didn’t halt the scanning and storing policy. Schaefer could not be reached for comment.
Missouri State Auditor Thomas Schweich announced last week that his office would be launching an audit of the Department of Revenue in connection with the scanning controversy.
“We will make it a priority during these audits to investigate concerns related to scanning source documents,” Schweich said in a letter to legislators.
On Tuesday, the Senate approved a bill that would take issuing CCW endorsements totally out of the hands of the Revenue Department and instead authorize sheriffs to endorse concealed weapons.
SB252 also limits the Department of Revenue to obtaining only the documents required by federal motor laws to be obtained when a Missourian is applying for a driver’s license.
Last Friday, the House approved a similar bill that would make it illegal for the department to scan and retain copies of any source documents presented by an individual applying for or holding a driver’s license or for a CCW endorsement.
“(HB787) stops the state from needlessly collecting a massive database of source documents that the state doesn’t need, and by their own admission, don’t even check,” said the bill’s sponsor Rep. Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff.
HB787 also requires the Department of Revenue to destroy any source documents obtained in the process of applying for driver’s or non-driver’s licenses by Sept. 11.
