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Dept. of Revenue promises it is not sending citizens personal documents to the federal government

State Department of Revenue leaders told a Missouri House committee today that they are NOT sending copies of documents from Missouri citizens to the federal government. 

Director Brian Long and Deputy Director John Mollenkamp say they now require documents from state residents, including conceal-carry endorsements, to be scanned into a computer system as part of an effort to cut down on fraud.  Republican House Member Todd Richardson says, though, he’s still skeptical about the agency’s intentions

“I’ve got concerns just taking what the department testified to on face value…the collecting of these source documents and storing them in a state database, whether that information’s being shared with anyone or not, I’ve got deep concerns about the state collecting and holding that much data,” said Richardson.

Richardson is sponsoring a bill that would bar the Department of Revenue from retaining copies of source documents used to obtain driver’s licenses, conceal-carry endorsements and other licenses. 

Some Republican lawmakers have accused the agency of forwarding scanned documents to the Department of Homeland Security, and suggested that it’s part of an effort by the Obama Administration to collect data on gun owners in Missouri.

Missouri Public Radio State House Reporter Marshall Griffin is a proud alumnus of the University of Mississippi (a.k.a., Ole Miss), and has been in radio for over 20 years, starting out as a deejay. His big break in news came when the first President Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in 1989. Marshall was working the graveyard shift at a rock station, and began ripping news bulletins off the old AP teletype and reading updates between songs. From there on, his radio career turned toward news reporting and anchoring. In 1999, he became the capital bureau chief for Florida's Radio Networks, and in 2003 he became News Director at WFSU-FM/Florida Public Radio. During his time in Tallahassee he covered seven legislative sessions, Governor Jeb Bush's administration, four hurricanes, the Terri Schiavo saga, and the 2000 presidential recount. Before coming to Missouri, he enjoyed a brief stint in the Blue Ridge Mountains, reporting and anchoring for WWNC-AM in Asheville, North Carolina. Marshall lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Julie, their dogs, Max and Mason, and their cat, Honey.