Legal Research

Effective May 1st, the state of Missouri increased the access fee to obtain a copy of a driving record or a vehicle record from $1.25 to $7.00 per record. While this is a major increase, it does place the state in the normal fee range when compared to the rest of the nation (the national average is just above $6.50). The additional funds are earmarked for upgrading outdated technology. However, the Missouri Department Revenue is also implementing the same new fee for a different type of record access ? the purchase of records in bulk or database format. The nationwide norm of fees for bulk access of vehicle records is between $.02 and $.04 per record. The states charging the highest fees ? Arizona and California ? are selling in bulk at about $.10 per record. However, Mr. Omar Davis, Director of the Department of Revenue, has increased the Missouri fee for bulk records from several cents a record to a nationwide high fee of $7.00 per record, an exorbitant increase of nearly 17500%. This fee increase affects entities that provide information for vehicle owners about vehicle recalls and for consumers checking vehicle history, such as if a vehicle was a salvage vehicle, flooded, rebuilt, or to see if an odometer was rolled back. Showing an apparent lack of knowledge by his advisors or researchers about record purchase and usage, Mr. Davis actually testified before a Missouri Legislative Committee that the fee increase for bulk records placed Missouri in the national norm. If the $7.00 bulk fee stays in place, these types of record uses in Missouri will become cost prohibitive and Missouri will most likely become a dumping ground for problem vehicles. At present, several lawsuits have been filed by nationwide vendors against the Missouri Department of Revenue to stop the fee increase. The lawsuits argue that the fee increase violates the set limits on what the government can charge for records. Earlier this year, a similar situation occurred in Washington, DC where the administration?s lack of knowledge of the difference between batch inquiry and bulk sales nearly shut access to driving records in that jurisdiction. Fortunately, the DC administrators modified their policies before a shut-down occurred. One hopes that logical thinking will take place in the Show Me state as well.