Ron Richard: We will send a cease and desist letter to DOR

Add Sen. Ron Richard, R-Joplin, to the list of legislators who are outraged, I repeat outraged, about the release of personal information by the Missouri Department of Revenue. He addresses the subject in his latest report.

Over the last two months, the Senate has investigated allegations that the Department of Revenue is scanning and collecting private information as part of a new policy to renew or issue drivers’ licenses and concealed carry permits. The charges came to light after a lawsuit was filed in Stoddard County. The Senate has since spear-headed the inquiry into this troubling issue. Unfortunately, the more we find out, the worse the situation looks.

It has now been discovered that the Missouri Highway Patrol sent an extensive list of concealed carry permit holders to the federal government, not once, but twice, and as recently as January. The Patrol gave a disc of more than 163,000 names to the Department of Social Security Administration.  Supposedly, they were looking into fraud and checking social security disability against CCW permits.

At this point, it’s hard not to believe that the Senate and the public have been purposefully misled. We’ve had to fight for every answer and even then, we’re not given all the facts. The entire situation is appalling. The privacy of our citizens has been violated. A list of more than 160,000 concealed carry permit holders in the state is now in the hands of the federal government, a direct violation of Missouri law. On top of all that, select state departments are completely disregarding the law and willfully ignoring the authority of the General Assembly. This will not stand.

We will continue the investigation and I will keep you updated on any new developments.  Keep in mind as Floor Leader I publicly stated we would not go to the Department of Revenue’s budget on the floor until Senator Schaefer was satisfied with the answers he was getting.  We will also be sending a cease and desist letter to the Department of Revenue.