Revenue Department can't verify if ID info deleted from statewide database

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Intro:	Officials from the Missouri Department of Revenue answered to state senators Wednesday about citizens' information scanned for a state database.
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Wrap: The deputy director from the Missouri Revenue Department, John Mollenkamp, first said they are using grant money received from the Department of Homeland Security for hole punchers that cost more than one hundred dollars each.

He later said the grant is used for computer programming to compare and verify photo ID's.

Kansas City Republican Senator Ryan Silvey asked if Missourians data is ever shared with anyone in the federal government.

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Description: "The list of drivers and non-drivers in the state of Missouri is protected by the Driver Privacy Protection act and is only shared by those circumstances permitted by the DPPA."

But Mollenkamp says he's not personally aware what those circumstances are.

A Missouri statute prohibits any residents facial recognition, finger prints and eye scans, to be kept in a federal database.

Republican Columbia Sentator Kurt Schaefer says Homeland Security audits the vendor that keeps the data six times a year.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Christine Roto.

Intro:	A Missouri lawmaker claims the Department of Revenue has told him multiple different stories about a grant from homeland security.
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Wrap: The Missouri Department of Revenue Deputy Director John Mollenkamp says a grant given to them by the Department of Homeland Security is used for a computer program to compare ID photos for verification.

The chairman of the Senate Appropriations committee, Republican Columbia Senator Kurt Schaefer, compared the database to Big Brother.

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Description: "So literally you are creating an Orwellian file on every single Missourian on the biometrics of their face." "Senator if you wish to characterize it as Orwellian..." "I do." "That would not be my characterization."

The amount of the grant remains unknown, and the Department of Revenue refused to answer any further questions.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Christine Roto.

Intro:	Missouri lawmakers are questioning the Revenue Department about why citizen's information is in a statewide database.
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Wrap: The deputy director of the Missouri Department of Revenue says it sent Missourians information to a database to verify identification to prevent fraud.

Republican Senator Mike Parson says this punished law abiding citizens, and it puts them at risk of their information being exposed if the database is breached.

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Description: "But whether you like it or not, you now obtained that information and you have the responsibility of that information, which makes everybody at risk. And I don't know why we want to put Missouri citizens at risk when we don't have to."

Deputy Director John Mollenkamp says the agreement the Revenue Department has with the vendor that gets the information says that the vendor has to delete the citizen's information after it is verified.

But Mollenkamp says the only confirmation the department has received that the information is deleted...is by word of mouth.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Christine Roto.

Intro:	The Missouri Revenue Department can't get its story straight on the use of a grant received from homeland security.
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Wrap: Officials from the department came under fire from lawmakers in a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing.

Republican Columbia Senator Kurt Schaefer, the chairman of the committee, says he has heard different stories about what the grant is being used for.

He says he was first told by the department that the grant had nothing to do with the verification process, then he was told the grant was used to buy hole punchers, which were over one hundred dollars each.

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Description: "You are now telling me there is a grant from homeland security to do biometric analysis of photos on every Missouri citizen."

The deputy director of the Revenue Department told the committee that the grant helps pay for computer programming to compare photographs using a photo validation system.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Christine Roto.