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Bill aims to end driver's license fingerprint rule: Applicants now have to supply their prints.(Tulsa World (OK) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jan. 12--OKLAHOMA CITY -- Sen. Randy Brogdon wants to prevent the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety from requiring applicants for a driver's license to submit their fingerprints. Brogdon, R-Owasso, said his measure, Senate Bill 289, was about privacy. He calls it "The Religious Freedom and Privacy Protection Act of 2009." A spokesman for the department, Capt. Chris West, said the fingerprint requirement was necessary to reduce identity theft. Brogdon's measure would prevent the state from collecting or retaining "any biometric data in connection with motor vehicle registration or operation, or in connection with driver licensing. Refusal to provide such information will have no effect on obtaining a driver license." The measure lists a host of items to be considered biometric data, including fingerprints, palm prints, voice data, iris recognition data, retinal scans and DNA. The measure would not apply to the taking of fingerprints to perform a criminal record check required under federal rules regarding the issuance of hazardous materials endorsements on driver's licenses. West said fingerprint imaging became mandatory under a law that took effect in July 2004. Brogdon said he is tired of bureaucracies across the country gradually stripping away freedom and constitutional rights. Brogdon's measure would also apply to Social Security numbers. West said the department requires Social Security numbers to assist in child support enforcement collection. The information is shared with other governmental agencies, including those outside of Oklahoma, he said. Brogdon said the measure would not harm child support enforcement. An applicant still would be required to provide a Social Security number, but the bill would not allow the agency to store or share it, he said. Jeff Wagner, a spokesman for the Department of Human Services' Child Support Services Division, said state and federal laws mandate that agencies, businesses and individuals provide information to help find missing parents in child support cases. "The Social Security Act recognizes that Social Security numbers obtained by the Department of Public Safety and shared in connection with driver's licenses are a powerful tool for locating these individuals," Wagner said. "Prohibiting the retention of this information will provide one more way for absent parents owing child support to hide from their obligations and the law." Social Security numbers were once used as driver's license numbers. The practice ended because of concerns about identity theft. Barbara Hoberock (405) 528-2465 [email protected] To see more of the Tulsa World, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.tulsaworld.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Tulsa World, Okla. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |