Lawmakers balk at driver's license records fee increase

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A leading House Republican said Tuesday he will try before the legislative session ends next week to reverse a Department of Revenue decision to increase fees charged to access driver's license records.

Insurance companies and database operators such as one that maintains online records for used-car histories said the higher fees could force them out of business, drive up car insurance premiums and make it more difficult to administer vehicle recalls in Missouri.

That prompted Rep. Shannon Cooper, a powerful committee chairman, to ask legislative staffers to draft an amendment to be added to numerous bills to block the Revenue Department from enacting the fee increase.

"You're killing them. The point is you're going to put them out of business," Cooper told revenue director Omar Davis.

At issue is a move by the Department of Revenue to charge $7 for driver's license and motor vehicle records, starting this month.

Since 1998 that fee had been $1.25, and even less for bulk requests.

The department charges 43 cents per 100 records for the first 50,000 requested, and after that, the price drops to 3 cents per 100 records.

Davis, speaking Tuesday to a legislative committee reviewing the fee increase, said the additional money is needed to create a new record system.

"We're stuck in the '70s with our (computer) system," Davis said. "We don't have any other way to do this."

The Revenue Department in October signed a contract worth up to $50 million with Virginia-based BearingPoint Inc. to replace the state computer system for driver's license records. Davis said the department is paying for the new system with profits from driver's license and motor vehicle requests and by letting the consulting firm keep $1 from every record sale.

Davis told reporters after the hearing that without a specific law barring the fee increase, he cannot break the contract. And if ordered by lawmakers to do so, the move could make others hesitant to do business with the state.

According to documents given to committee members by the Revenue Department, more than a dozen companies that had purchased driver's license and motor vehicle records weekly or monthly have stopped.

Some, Davis warned, could file lawsuits to overturn the fee increase. In a letter dated Monday and addressed to Sen. Brad Lager, R-Savannah, who heads the Joint Committee on Tax Policy, Davis said he would rather meet privately with committee members about concerns with the fee increase.

That's because of "imminent litigation" and Davis' fear that attorneys likely to file a lawsuit would attend the hearing and "record my every syllable," Davis wrote in the letter.

"It borders on unconscionable to place the department in such a position at an open hearing prior to litigation," he wrote. "I would request that this hearing be canceled or, at minimum, held in closed session to protect the department's litigation position and the interests of the people of Missouri."

The meeting, however, was open to the public.

State law allows access to driver's license data for researchers, media outlets and certain businesses that need to examine driving histories, such as an insurance company reviewing an applicant's driving history. The records contain basic information about a motorist such as his or her name, address, height and driver's license number. It also has some details about offenses and point assessments for moving violations.

Davis said the higher charges would make it less likely that someone would buy all 4 million of the state's license records, and he predicted they would make the information more secure.

"It's embarrassing that anybody could come in here and say the department is doing something wrong for trying to protect Missourians' records," he said.

Tim Sowton, a lobbyist for the parent company of online used car history database CarFax, said the company would need to pay an extra $42 million to continue updating its records weekly.

Sowton said CarFax buys vehicle title and registration data in every state and Canada for an average of 2 cents per record.

"Our business model couldn't survive" paying $7 per record, he said.

----

On the Net:

Revenue Department: http://www.dor.mo.gov

Legislature: http://www.moga.mo.gov