Welcome back!  The Missouri Legislature is now halfway through the legislative session. The majority of my time this week was devoted to the budget. The Senate Appropriations Committee will begin reviewing markups of budget bills from the House next week.

As many of you have heard through either emails or the news, I chaired a special Appropriations Committee meeting two weeks ago regarding the Missouri Department of Revenue. 

A few weeks ago, several constituents contacted me about disturbing new requirements they encountered with DOR’s Motor Vehicle Office while renewing their driver’s licenses and conceal carry weapon permits.

The department has quietly begun implementing a new statewide policy, county-by-county, which now requires Missouri citizens who have an existing, valid, legal driver’s license, non-driver state identification card, and conceal carry weapon permit to present a copy of their birth certificate, Social Security card and proof of residency.  If you are a married or divorced woman and the name on your current state ID differs from the name on your birth certificate, the state now requires a copy of your marriage certificate or divorce papers.  It will no longer accept your current license or ID, issued by the department, as valid ID to renew your license or ID.

The outrage of these new requirements is that the department is scanning all this personal information and storing copies of our documents in a central database.  Even more outrageous, the department is collecting biometric data, such as facial feature measurements, from all license photos— even though state law prohibits it—and storing that as well.

Furthermore, the department has a contract with a company called MorphoTrust, which is an American subsidiary of a French defense company.  The department electronically sends our personal information to MorphoTrust, which then produces our new driver’s license, non-driver ID card, or conceal carry permits and mails them to us.  As you know, the department formerly produced these cards on site.

The Department has no legal authority to impose this policy on Missourians.  Because they implemented this on their own, they could, if they chose to, end it immediately and return to the previous process for renewing licenses and ID’s.

On March 26, I subpoenaed the Missouri Department of Revenue to produce documents related to info-sharing of biometric data and conceal carry endorsements.  The subpoena allows the Missouri Department of Revenue until 4:00 p.m. on April 2, 2013, to produce the records. The only mechanism left to the Senate was to compel the department to produce the documents. I am committed to my role in this process and will not settle until all questions are answered.

On Tuesday (3-26), Senate Bill 72, which designates May as “Motorcycle Awareness Month,” was third read and reported to the House for consideration. Also on Tuesday, House Bill 55, which pertains to tax amnesty and is identical to my legislation Senate Bill 465, was referred to the Governmental Accountability and Fiscal Oversight Committee. 

In my continuing effort to preserve the rights of Missouri citizens, I proposed Senate Joint Resolution 14, which will uphold the unalienable Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. The joint resolution was debated on the floor and initially passed Tuesday evening.

On Wednesday morning (3-27), I amended Senate Bill 178, sponsored by Sen. Rob Schaaf, which modifies requirements relating to safety provisions in mental health facilities, to include funding for Boone County counselors.

March of Dimes had its Advocacy Day in the Capitol on Wednesday. The organization is celebrating its 75th of year of promoting awareness to improve the health of infants and prevent premature birth and infant mortality. The March of Dimes’ annual March for Babies fundraiser will be held in Jefferson City on Sunday, April 28 at 1:30 p.m. Registration begins at 12:30 p.m. in Memorial Park. Click here or visit www.marchofdimes.com to join March of Dimes in celebrating its 75th year.

Finally, thank you to all the individuals who stopped by my office in the past few weeks. I’ve had the privilege of meeting with several groups, including the Missouri Coroners’ and Medical Examiners’ Association; the Kansas City Criminal Justice Task Force; the Missouri Humanities Council; and Bennie Lewis and president Bob Kendrick of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

The Senate will not be in session on Monday (4-1) in recognition of the Easter holiday.

Did you know...?

When Abraham Lincoln ran for president, one of his most staunch foes was Valentine Tapley of Missouri.  Tapley swore that if Lincoln ever became president, he would never again shave.  As you know, Lincoln became president.  And Tapley? True to his strange swearing-off-of-shaving promise, he never again shaved his beard.  From 1860 until his death in 1910, he never again shaved, dying with whiskers 12 feet and six inches long.

Thank you for your continued interest in the issues that affect the citizens of Boone and Cooper counties. If you have any questions or concerns throughout this session, please contact my office.