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Special Mo. House Committee Wraps Up Hearings Into Dept. Of Revenue Scanning

Marshall Griffin/St. Louis Public Radio

A special Missouri House committee appointed to look into why the Department of Revenue began scanning documents of driver's license and conceal-carry applicants has wrapped up its series of hearings this summer.

The committee had initially tried to force members of Governor Jay Nixon's (D) administration to testify by issuing subpoenas, but a Cole County judge quashed them.  They later testified voluntarily after the Governor signed a new law that ended the scanning policy for driver's license applicants.  Scanning of documents for conceal carry weapons applicants ended in April.  State Representative Stanley Cox (R, Sedalia)chairs the committee, which he says is trying to determine if the Nixon Administration was trying to implement the federal Real ID Act.

"The Department of Revenue, and the Governor's staff, have protested and said they were not implementing Real ID," Cox said.  "It's pretty obvious to me, despite their claims to the contrary, that they were doing many things to implement Real ID."

State Representative Gina Mitten of St. Louis, one of the few Democrats on the committee, disagrees.  She says Revenue officials were trying to provide a secure photo identification system for citizens, but were not seeking to deliberately implement the 2005 Real ID Act, which was forbidden by a state law passed in 2009.

Follow Marshall Griffin on Twitter:  @MarshallGReport

Copyright 2021 St. Louis Public Radio. To see more, visit St. Louis Public Radio.

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.
Marshall Griffin
St. Louis Public Radio State House Reporter Marshall Griffin is a native of Mississippi and proud alumnus of Ole Miss (welcome to the SEC, Mizzou!). He 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 an 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 Liberty Belle, and their cat, Honey.