As chair, I get a lot of messages about all kinds of topics that our citizens are concerned about. Recently I have been getting a lot of questions about Utah’s proposed mobil Drivers License(mDL) and it usually comes with a picture of this flyer.
Personal financial and medical privacy is a serious issue that I am very concerned about so I decided to dig deeper and do my own research. It didn’t take long to find the website for the app and discover that most of the claims on the flyer were false. The app only holds a digital copy of the Driver License and most important is that this is an option not a mandate. But I didn’t want to stop there, so I decided to call and speak with Senator Lincoln Fillmore who sponsored the bill that created the pilot program for mDL. I asked him a number of questions and learned a lot of things. First, let me tell you a little about Senator Fillmore. He is one of the good guys that understand that government exists to protect our God-given rights. For example, he stood against the demonization and radicalization of our children often found in Critical Race Theory when he proposed SR901.
I asked him to send me a response regarding the mDL and the flyer. Here is Senator Lincoln Fillmore’s response.
I find it amusing that, among other things, the flyer claims that this pilot program will lead to the state having and combining financial records, health records, education records, even the things a person eats.
Since I carried and sponsored the bill to create the digital driver license pilot program, I can assure you that nothing on that flyer is true. It’s not even close to true. Utah has among the strongest individual privacy laws in the country, and the Digital Driver License program does nothing to change that. It simply allows people the option to carry a license on their phone, instead of a physical card. If you or anyone else doesn’t want one, you can keep the physical card.
It won’t surprise you to know that the Driver License Division already keeps all its records electronically. If you’re pulled over today, the officer will take your driver license, enter the number in his computer, and pull up your electronic record. Nothing in the DDL programs changes this or changes any data that the state keeps. The state knows (and your DL shows) your age, birth date, hair, and eye color, height, weight (or the slightly lower amount that you put down as your weight), address, restrictions (like glasses), DL Number, and when the license was issued and expired. In fact, when you show your license to purchase alcohol or get into an R-Rated movie, whoever you show your license to has all that same information.
So actually, the DDL increases personal privacy. With a DDL, when you need to show your license (to the police or to a private party checking your ID), you don’t show your actual license, you show a QR code. They scan it, and the only information they get is your age (that is, if you’re over 18 or over 21, as the case needs to be), your address (like at the bank), or both, depending on what information you choose to share. The state doesn’t collect or store any additional information on you, but the information that you share with others is much more limited. No one will ever be able to see your driver license number, birth date, or any other information you want to keep private.
But, if you still prefer carrying a card, you can.
Thanks,
Lincoln Fillmore
Utah State Senate District 10
Additional resources:
MobileDL (app)