STATE REVENUE FROM SALE OF DRIVER RECORDS DECLINES UNDER NEW LAW

JEFFERSON CITY -- Revenue the state receives from the sale of driver records has declined since the imposition of privacy restrictions on the information.

Congress passed the Drivers Privacy Protection Act in 1994. The measure requires states to impose stricter guidelines concerning the release of information citizens must provide when applying for a driver's license or licensing a vehicle.

A Missouri law doing so went into effect in September 1997. Under the law, people are given the option to restrict personal information when conducting business with the Division of Motor Vehicle and Drivers Licensing, which is part of the Department of Revenue.

The restrictions took effect part way through the 1998 fiscal year. That year the department collected $2.19 million from the sales of drivers' records. For fiscal year 1999, such revenues declined by 11 percent to $1.95 million.

June Isenberg, legislative coordinator for the revenue department, said revenue from record sales likely will drop further as more Missourians restrict their records.

"Clearly the amount of money we were receiving has been reduced significantly," Isenberg said.

Isenberg said about 85 percent of driver's license records and an even higher percentage of vehicle records are restricted, although she couldn't be specific about the latter.

Each transaction must be restricted separately. More vehicle records are restricted because license plates are renewed annually, whereas driver's licenses are renewed every three years, Isenberg said. Many people's licenses have not been up for renewal since the new regulations became effective.

Bulk distributors often purchase records from the state for commercial mailing purposes. The department charges such companies a flat fee for access, per-hour fees for the time it takes to retrieve requested data and another fee for each 100 records. Bulk distributors may not legally resell records to third parties.

Restricted information includes a person's address, date of birth, height, weight and driver's license number. Records of accidents or moving violations are not protected.

The law also exempts certain entities from being restricted access to driver records. Those include law enforcement; authorized persons seeking information relevant to criminal, civil or administrative judicial proceedings; government agencies that need access as part of their regular duties; employers verifying the records of commercial drivers; the news media; and licensed private investigators or security firms.

Workers at licensing offices also must ask license applicants if they prefer not to use their Social Security number as their driver's license number. Those who choose that option are issued a different seven-digit number.