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ACLU Urges Governor Bush To Support Legislation Protecting Privacy Rights of Florida Drivers
April 18, 2003
MIAMI ? The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida today asked Gov. Jeb Bush to use his influence during the few remaining weeks of this year's legislative session to urge state lawmakers to pass legislation that would bring the state into compliance with the privacy protection requirements of federal law.
ACLU of Florida Executive Director Howard Simon and Legislative Staff Counsel Larry Spalding transmitted a letter to Gov. Bush today, urging him to support legislation designed to bring Florida into compliance with the Driver's Privacy Protection Act (DPPA), a federal law that bans state officials from sharing the personal information they collect on motorists when administering driver's licenses unless they obtain a person's "express consent" to do so.
"Today, to the best of our knowledge Florida stands as the only state in the nation in substantial non-compliance with the DPPA," wrote the ACLU's Simon and Spalding. "We hope that will change this session. However, that may not be possible without your personal intervention with the leadership in the House of Representatives and the Florida Senate."
In Florida, Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles records (including drivers' licenses, identification cards, vehicle registrations and titles) are classified as "public records," giving virtually anyone access to those records maintained by the department. Federal law bans state officials from sharing anyone's personal information unless they obtain express permission to do so. Nevertheless, in past years the state has been selling that information to marketers and companies that traffic in personal data without even notifying people that their information is being sold. According to state records, the motor vehicle department collected in excess of $27 million in fees during fiscal year 2001-2002 from the sale of driving and motor vehicle records.
