Pennsylvania State Representative
October 24, 1998
Dear Representative Waugh:
I have a dilemma which requires urgent attention. In July I moved to Shrewsbury
from Maryland. Being new to the commonwealth, I attempted to apply for a
Pennsylvania driver's license. I was told that drivers are required to do this
within 60 days of establishing residency in the commonwealth.
On August 14th of this year, I went to the York PennDOT office to apply for a
license. I was asked for my current out of state license, proper payment in
acceptable form, and a Social Security Number. I provided both my current
license and the proper payment, but I refused to respond to the request for a
SSN, due to the fact that the request was not accompanied with a Privacy Act
notice as required by the Privacy Act of 1974. As you may know, the Section
7 of the Privacy Act (Public Law 93-579) states:
(2) the provisions of paragraph (1) of this subsection shall not apply with
respect to--
(A) any disclosure which is required by Federal statute, or
(B) the disclosure of a social security number to any Federal, State, or
local agency maintaining a system of records in existence and operating
before January 1, 1975, if such disclosure was required under statute or
regulation adopted prior to such date to verify the identity of an individual.
(b) Any Federal, State, or local government agency which requests an
individual to disclose his social security account number shall inform
that individual whether that disclosure is mandatory or voluntary, by
what statutory or other authority such number is solicited, and what
uses will be made of it.
I contacted the Bureau of Drivers Licensing by Postal mail to attempt to
resolve this matter on two separate occasions, but I regret to report that
I have not received any response from them as of this writing. Please find
copies of my correspondence to them enclosed.
I am very concerned about this development. My Maryland license will
eventually expire, and of course I have no desire for confrontations with
law enforcement which I may suffer as a result of what appears to be a
violation of Federal Law on the part of the Bureau of Drivers Licensing.
According to the Privacy Act, I still enjoy complete and lawful "right",
"benefit", and/or "privilege" to drive despite the apparently unlawful
demands placed upon me by the Bureau of Drivers Licensing and their
subsequent denial of a drivers license to myself. It is my intent to
exercise that right, even beyond the expiration of my Maryland license if
need be, but obviously I would prefer it not come to that. I have no
desire to suffer any consequences that may result from driving without a
license, particularly outside the commonwealth. Please understand that
in defense of my Rights, I have no choice but to hold the Bureau of
Drivers Licensing liable for any damages I may directly or indirectly
suffer as a result of unlawful actions they continue to take against me.
Because I have received no response from the Bureau of Drivers Licensing,
I now turn to you for an accounting of the behavior of the Bureau of
Drivers Licensing. Please explain to me why they failed to cite federal
authority when they requested a SSN from me, as the Privacy Act appears
to require them to do. I would also want you to answer the questions
they have failed to address. Since this is an urgent matter, please
respond not later than 2 weeks from your receipt of this letter.
Thank you very much for your attention. I look forward to your prompt
response.
Sincerely,
[signed]
Cornelius J. McIver
Enclosures
I enclosed in this letter a complete copy of the original letters to the
Licensing Bureau.
(a)(1) It shall be unlawful for any Federal, State or local government agency
to deny to any individual any right, benefit, or privilege provided by law
because of such individual's refusal to disclose his social security account
number.
My understanding is that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Bureau
of Drivers Licensing are both subject to, and are not exempt from, the
Privacy Act. Therefore, when I was asked for a Social Security Number
that did not accompany any such citation of Federal Authority. I complained
and asked for such authority. The employee failed to provide any such
federal authority, but cited a law from the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code. I
pointed out that the Privacy Act required federal authority, and therefore
state authority was insufficient. Nonetheless the employee refused to
process my application for a drivers license.
Cc: Bureau of Drivers Licensing
All information presented here is done so under the protection of the First, Fourth, Ninth, and Tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, and article I section 2 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Furthermore, as established in the famous trial of William Penn in August 1670, and contrary to the unlawful instructions given by most American judges, in addition to judging the facts of a case, juries also have the right and duty to pass judgement on the law (meaning they may acquit a violator of the law if they believe the law in question is unconstitutional, immoral, just plain stupid, or if the penalty is deemed too harsh). Juries are also lawfully free to vote according to their conscience, above all other considerations.