Special committee to look into document scanning decision

Anticipating that investigations into the Missouri Department of Revenue's scanning and sharing of concealed-weapons permits will need to go beyond the length of this year's legislative session, House Speaker Tim Jones on Monday announced he will form a special committee of legislators, prosecuting attorneys and sheriffs to evaluate if state law was broken during what Republicans call a breach in citizens' trust of state government.

Jones said his committee will be bipartisan to include Republicans and Democrats. The idea for its formation is based upon a committee Gov. Jay Nixon led when he served as attorney general, Jones said. Nixon's committee investigated the retention of emails in former governor Matt Blunt's administration.

"I just feel that after several months we don't have a resolution and cooperation from the governor's office," Jones said. "We are trying to find out, historically, whose decision and how far up the chain did it go to begin scanning the information at the Department of Revenue."

The revenue department's storing of personal identification documents of concealed-weapon permit holders on state computers led to information being passed on to Missouri State Highway Patrol, who in turn shared a list with a federal Social Security fraud investigator. Three investigations into the matter already are ongoing, including two in the House and Senate. State Auditor Tom Schweich's office also is conducting a related audit of the revenue department.

The governor in April ordered the revenue department to cease copying concealed-weapon permit holders' information. He also denied the state has participated in efforts to comply with a federal law known as Real ID; the state government passed legislation to opt out of complying with the program in 2009.

The federal law, according to the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees compliance, was enacted by Congress with the intention of deterring terrorists by setting standards, procedures and requirements for states to issue driver's licenses and other forms of identification to be accepted by the federal government for official purposes, such as boarding a federally regulated airplane, building or nuclear facility. The law requires states to use certain security measures, such as asking applicants to present additional documents verifying their identification, before issuing and printing identification cards. Many states, some of which have cited citizens' right to privacy as a concern, have passed laws that prevent state agencies from complying with provisions of the federal law.

Jones previously called on Attorney General Chris Koster to launch an additional investigation into document scanning and sharing, but the attorney general declined to do so, citing subpoena power current committees have and concerns with the fluidity of the facts surrounding the issue.

The formation of Jones' new committee would give him subpoena power, the speaker said.

Prosecuting Attorney Russell Oliver of Stoddard County, who filed a lawsuit on behalf of a local man that challenges the revenue department's storing and sharing of information, will serve on the committee, according to Jones. Nixon was subpoenaed in the Stoddard County case, but a stay was granted on April 29. A stay lasts for 20 days, and once it ends, Oliver can set a new date for depositions.

Jones said he also plans to ask several legislators who have shown interest in the issue to join the committee, including state Reps. Todd Richardson, Stanley Cox and Jay Barnes as well as Jefferson County Sheriff Glenn Boyer; Audrain County Sheriff Stuart Miller; Omar Davis, a former counsel and revenue department director; former state representative and retired Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Gary Fuhr; and Randolph County Prosecuting Attorney Mike Fusselman also will serve on the committee, according to a news release from Jones' office.

The legislative session ends May 17. A committee report is due on Sept. 1.

Allowed access

Another goal of the committee, Jones said, will be to discover who allowed different state and federal officials access to information.

"Statements have been made by several individuals, and I believe they are accurate, that it was unlawful access that was being granted," he said. "You can't have just complete open, unfettered access to that database unless it's within the scope of criminal activity, and apparently it wasn't."

Keith Schilb, a federal Social Security agent, has testified in committee hearings that he requested the list of weapon-permit holders from the highway patrol to investigate potential disability benefits fraud, but said the investigation never got off the ground and the list was destroyed.

Changes in policy that could be needed also will be a consideration of the committee, Jones said.

Several bills that would change how the Department of Revenue handles personal information are making their way through the Legislature.

State Sen. Wayne Wallingford, R-Cape Girardeau, weighed in on the formation of the new committee Monday.

"It is my hope that the bipartisan investigatory committee on privacy protection will help give us answers about this scandal and make recommendations about how we can stop the Department of Revenue from putting Missourians' private information in harm's way," he wrote in a statement.

On Monday, Jones also gave an update on a situation in which a Missouri House of Representatives computer was used last week to attempt to access a secure website that held the list of concealed-weapons permit holders.

The state's Office of Administration called the attempt "unauthorized" and issued Sunshine Law requests Thursday to Jones, the House clerk and its director of information systems to try to find out who tried to access the website.

Schilb last week released his login information for the website to legislators and the public. Jones said there had been no access to the website through the House investigation, and shifted blame to the Office of Administration.

"I turned that information over to the House investigators and staff who had been looking at this matter for the last several weeks, and later they reported back to me they had investigated that and discovered, unbelievably, that OA had done nothing to take that portal down, or that access point," Jones said. "Basically, it was done in conjunction with our ongoing investigation."

An Office of Administration spokesperson last week said the concealed-weapons permit list was removed from the site March 5.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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