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Coghill's Privacy Bill Passes House
HB 48 Would Keep Social Security Numbers Off Licenses

For Immediate Release: February 5, 2001

Contact: Representative John Coghill at (907) 465-3719

(JUNEAU) -- The House of Representatives today passed House Bill 48, which frees outdoorsmen from the legal obligation to submit their Social Security numbers when applying for hunting and fishing licenses.

Rep. John Coghill Jr. (R-North Pole) said he sponsored HB 48 in response to constituents resisting the steady trend toward converting the Social Security number from a government pension account number into a national identity number.

"This bill arose from constituents who complained that they didn't want to have to give out their Social Security numbers just to hunt or fish in Alaska, and I agree with them," Coghill said. "It's an invasion of privacy, and in the days of identity theft we should limit the use of a number that can be the key to someone's entire identity."

State hunting and fishing license applications now require Social Security numbers under a federal mandate forcing states to collect the information, as a way to track those who might become delinquent on child support payments.

However, the Alaska Child Support Enforcement Division has received a three-year waiver of this requirement this year, as the federal government instead depends on the much more accurate and reliable information gathered through Alaska Permanent Fund dividend applications, Coghill said.

"We had statutes on the books that said it was required even though CSED said they didn't need it, because they had a waiver," Coghill said. "So HB 48 makes the statutory changes needed, takes it off the books, and frees us immediately from the requirement to have Social Security numbers on hunting and fishing licenses."

The bill's immediate effective date means even if license applications still ask for Social Security numbers, applicants would not have to supply them, Coghill said.

The bill passed with no opposition in the House, and moves to the Senate for consideration.

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Attachments:

• Sponsor Statement for HB 48

Broadcasters Note: Audio comments are available on the Majority Actuality line at 1-800-478-6540 or below.

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