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Rep. Jim Hackworth - House District 33
IMMEDIATE RELEASE March
1, 2007
Legislators Consider
Driver Certificate Ban,
Tougher Identity Theft
Protection Measures
Bill Sets Process for
Security Freeze, Social Security Number Protection
NASHVILLE (Mar. 1) –Are
you who you say you are? That’s the question posed by lawmakers as
they consider two bills that help safeguard the legal identities of
Tennesseans, according to Rep.
Hackworth, D-Anderson
County.
One measure eliminates
the controversial certificate of driving (CFD) linked by police to
criminal rings that produced forged documents for illegal immigrants.
Created in 2004, the CFD was originally seen as a public safety issue.
The idea behind the CFD was to allow temporary legal residents the
privilege of commuting to and from work.
Legislators at that time
expressed concerns that foreign residents were driving untested and
uninsured. Although permanent residents reported their social security
numbers to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) before being issued
driver licenses, this requirement was waived for CFD applicants.
The DMV often couldn’t verify the CFD applicant’s legal status, although
proof of identity and temporary residency were required.
“The certificate for
driving was invalid for identification purposes. This document
only allowed the holder to drive in Tennessee, and showed that the
motorist passed all the skill tests. But illegal immigrants from
neighboring states who wanted the CFD started using forged documents to
prove Tennessee residency,” explained
Hackworth.
Reports later circulated
that some DMV employees were accepting bribes from out-of-state
applicants in return for certificates. Consequently, Gov. Phil
Bredesen suspended the CFD program less than two years after it began.
Legislators then decided it made sense to supersede the CFD with
temporary state driver licenses for foreign residents lawfully in the
United States.
“Members were concerned
that foreign nationals who represented their governments, or were
legitimate students or business executives, needed valid driver licenses
during their stay in Tennessee. These proposed temporary licenses
expire between one to five years,” said
Hackworth.
The proposed bill also
eliminates fraud by requiring applicants to present official proof to
the DMV of their legal identity and authorized period of temporary
residence in Tennessee. “If this bill passes, our state’s
licensing requirements would be similar to those countries which issue
international driver licenses,” said
Hackworth.
Another bill allows
Tennesseans to request a security freeze on their consumer reports.
This action bars consumer reporting agencies from releasing consumer
reports or credit scores without express permission. The agencies
must freeze these reports within three days, and consumers are given a
personal identification number or password that is used in temporarily
or permanently removing the freeze.
The “Credit Security Act
of 2007,” as currently written, guards against identity thieves
fraudulently requesting lifts on freezes. Violators are liable to
consumer reporting agencies for damages up to $1,000.
Victims whose accounts
are illegally released may also sue for actual damages and payment of
attorney fees. Consumers must also be provided a summary of rights
under state law along with a summary of the federal Fair Credit
Reporting Act.
“More important,
agencies may not charge fees to identity theft victims who request
freezes on their reports. Resellers of credit information are also
barred from ordering frozen reports. The proposed bill does allow
releasing information without permission in some cases of child support
disputes, medical care billings and legal investigations,” said
Hackworth.
The measure also
prohibits businesses and state and local governments from disclosing
citizens’ social security numbers taken from their records.
Provisions forbid publicly posting or displaying social security numbers
and printing them on identification cards. In addition, web sites
must not require posting social security numbers to access the sites.
CONTACT:
Kenneth Townsend, Press Secretary, House Democratic Caucus,
at 615-741-6620 or email
kenneth.townsend@legislature.state.tn.us
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