JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A bill that would establish a website allowing Missourians to find out what vendors have purchased their information from the state had its first hearing in committee today, paving the way for a likely vote out of committee in the next few weeks.
Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Springfield, sponsors the bill. Burlison says that citizens are growing increasingly skeptical of government, and that his bill would help re-establish faith in state government by helping citizens learn exactly who can purchase their information.
Rep. Eric Burlison
Currently, the state can sell a wide variety of information to 3rd parties including drivers license information, social security numbers and photographs. Burlison says it makes sense for some of this information to be available, but that citizens should be able to find out who is purchasing it. Under current law, citizens must make separate Sushine Law requests to each state entity handling the information in question as well as pay whatever permissible office fees are related to meeting the request.
Burlison’s bill would require Attorney General Chris Koster to establish a website database where an individual Missourian can look up exactly what 3rd parties have requested to purchase their information. It would not prohibit the sale or allow Missourians access to anyone’s information except his or her own.
“I think this should be the price of doing business,” Burlison said. “The state is selling information about you and me to others and making a profit, shouldn’t they also have to tell you who those people are and what information they are selling? It should be a transparent process.”
The only opposition in committee came from the Missouri Municipal League, who’s information testimony said the law might be too broadly drawn and county and city-level data collection would overwhelm the database. Burlison was open to the concern and is currently applying more specific language to the bill.
“Lots of legislation comes from other previous bills or things in other states and this isn’t that, it came from my office and it’s a totally new idea,” Burlison tol The Missouri Times. “So I’m totally open to technical fixes to clean it up and make it work, because ultimately I think this is a good idea.”
Committee members offered almost no opposition, although some Republican lawmakers hinted they would be open to a more restrictive bill outright limiting or prohibiting the state from selling information at all. Burlison indicated he expected the bill to be successfully voted out of committee in the coming weeks after the last of the technical amendments are added.
