Bill Description: House Bill 339 would require a significant amount of personal data be sent to and compiled by the secretary of state.
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Does it create, expand, or enlarge any agency, board, program, function, or activity of government? Conversely, does it eliminate or curtail the size or scope of government?
House Bill 339 would repeal and replace Section 34-433, Idaho Code. This section currently requires the state board of health and welfare to provide the secretary of state with a list each month "showing the name, date of birth, county of residence and residence address of each Idaho resident who has died during the preceding month."
The new section created by the bill would be far more expansive, and require health and welfare data not just regarding deaths but also "age information, social security numbers, driver's license numbers, and citizenship information" on "any person included in its records."
The bill would require similar data be provided by the department of transportation and department of correction.
The bill would instruct the secretary of state to request from the state tax commission "a listing showing the legal names, dates of birth, residence addresses, residence changes, social security numbers, driver's license numbers, citizenship statuses, alien registration numbers, and homestead exemption records of any person included in its records."
Likewise, the secretary of state would be required to request from the federal government "any data available and relevant to assist in ensuring the integrity and accuracy of Idaho's voter registration information." This would include "legal names, dates of birth, residence addresses, residence changes, social security numbers, driver's license numbers, citizenship statuses and verifications, death records, United States customs and immigration services numbers, alien registration numbers, and all available information contained in the systematic alien verification for entitlements database administered by the United States department of homeland security and criminal conviction records."
The secretary of state would also request monthly data from the U.S. Social Security Administration.
Data may also be requested from "any entity, including cities, counties, state entities, other states, and third-party data providers" "at any time and at the discretion of the secretary of state."
The bill also says, "The secretary of state may enter into cooperative compacts and agreements with other states or groups of states to compare voter lists, to identify individuals who are registered to vote in more than one (1) state, to maintain the accuracy of voter lists, and to determine the current residence of each such individual to verify such individual's eligibility to remain registered to vote in Idaho."
It would give the secretary of state authority to "contract with commercial data providers, including but not limited to credit agencies and commercial data providers" in seeking additional data on individuals.
It is appropriate for the secretary of state to perform due diligence and make a good faith effort to maintain accurate voter lists, but the privacy implications of the large-scale data mining of personal information called for in this bill are concerning.
Even more concerning is that, while there are some privacy protections from public disclosure, there are no explicit protections in the bill to prevent other government entities from accessing or using the information compiled by the secretary of state.
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Does it violate the principles of federalism by increasing federal authority, yielding to federal blandishments, or incorporating changeable federal laws into Idaho statutes or rules? Examples include citing federal code without noting as it is written on a certain date, using state resources to enforce federal law, and refusing to support and uphold the tenth amendment. conversely, does it restore or uphold the principles of federalism?
The bill says that additional data may be sought from "the federal government, including but not limited to the United States department of homeland security, the offices of the United States attorneys, the social security administration, and United States postal service" "at any time and at the discretion of the secretary of state."
The bill's fiscal note estimates that the secretary of state's office will spend $2,500 annually "to access databases from the Social Security Administration as well as the Department of Homeland Security."
Much like federal money comes with strings attached, so could access to federal data and federal databases. The bill also does not provide any explicit prohibitions against the federal government having access to the data compiled by the SOS.
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Does it in any way restrict public access to information related to government activity or otherwise compromise government transparency, accountability, or election integrity? Conversely, does it increase public access to information related to government activity or increase government transparency, accountability, or election integrity?
While the data collected under the provisions of this bill could be misused, some of it may be used appropriately to remove ineligible voters from the voter rolls and prevent voter fraud.
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