HCS HB 361 -- FEDERAL REAL ID ACT OF 2005

SPONSOR:  Guest

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on Real ID
and Personal Privacy by a vote of 10 to 0.

This substitute specifies that an applicant for a driver's
license, nondriver's license, or instruction permit cannot have
his or her privacy rights violated in order to obtain or renew a
driver's license.

The Department of Revenue must amend procedures for applying for
a driver's license or identification card in order to comply with
the goals or standards of the federal REAL ID Act of 2005 and is
prohibited from selling any data derived from a person's license
or permit application for commercial purposes.

Any biometric data previously collected, obtained, or retained by
any state department or agency responsible for motor vehicle
registration or operation or the issuance or renewal of driver's
licenses or identification cards must be retrieved and deleted
from all databases.

Currently, the Department of Revenue must verify that an
applicant for a driver's license is lawfully present in the
United States before accepting the application, and the license
cannot be issued for a period that exceeds the applicant's lawful
presence.  The substitute requires the department to verify that
an applicant for a driver's license is a Missouri citizen or
national of the United States or a noncitizen with lawful
immigration status and a Missouri resident before accepting the
application.  The license cannot be issued for a period that
exceeds the duration of the applicant's lawful immigration
status.

For the renewal of a noncommercial driver's license,
noncommercial instruction permit, or nondriver's license, a
photocopy of an applicant's United States birth certificate along
with another form of identification approved by the department,
including any United States military identification or discharge
papers, will be sufficient proof of Missouri citizenship, United
States naturalization, or lawful immigration status.

If an applicant for the renewal of a noncommercial driver's
license or instruction permit or a nondriver's license is not at
least 65 years of age with a previously issued Missouri
noncommercial license or instruction permit or nondriver's
license or does not have the required documents to prove Missouri
citizenship, United States naturalization, or lawful immigration
status but has held a Missouri noncommercial license or
instruction permit or nondriver's license for at least 15 years,
the department may issue a one-time only, one-year renewal
license or permit.

FISCAL NOTE:  No impact on state funds in FY 2010, FY 2011, and
FY 2012.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that the federal REAL ID Act of 2005
represents overreaching government control into the lives of
Americans and is taking freedoms and civil liberties from
Missourians.  The act was passed as an amendment late at night on
an unrelated bill for supplemental funding for the Iraq War and
tsunami relief.  The bill never had a hearing in the U. S.
Senate.  Because the act requires personal data to be shared
within the state, between states, and globally, the risk of
identification theft increases drastically.  First amendment
freedoms are also being eroded due to the lack of exemptions for
religious exceptions for taking photographs or fingerprints of
citizens.

Testifying for the bill were Representative Guest; Louise
Diender; Catherine Bleish, Liberty Restoration Project; Bruce
Summers; John Paul Fagot; Amy Bremer; Kevin L. Kobe; Glenn
Nielsen, Missouri Libertarian Party; and American Civil Liberties
Union of Eastern Missouri.

OPPONENTS:  There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

OTHERS:  Others testifying on the bill say that the implications
of not implementing the federal REAL ID Act of 2005 include
Missouri citizens not having access to federal courthouses or
buildings and not being allowed to board airlines.  The act is
not a federal mandate.  If Missouri chooses to not implement the
act, many Missouri citizens will lose privileges.

Testifying on the bill were Department of Revenue; and State
Highway Patrol.

Missouri House of Representatives
95th General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated November 17, 2009 at 9:24 am