Date: Fri 12-Feb-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: CURT

Quick Words:

Social-Security-Numbers

Full Text:

State And Local Officials Fight Collection Of Social Security Numbers

By Suzanne Youmans

Associated Press

HARTFORD -- Municipal leaders and lawmakers say Social Security numbers are

keys that can unlock vast amounts of personal information about people,

information that should be kept private.

But court officials say they need access to Social Security numbers so they

can weed out duplicated names on state jury lists.

About a dozen municipal leaders and state lawmakers stood together last week

to oppose the state's request for residents' Social Security numbers. Turning

over the information gathered on voter registration applications would violate

constituents' privacy, the officials argued.

"In a democracy, there can be no more sacred commodity than human privacy,"

David LeVasseur, the first selectman of Killingworth, told a news conference

Monday. "Without such a guarantee, the rights given us by the Constitution are

meaningless."

The voter information, requested annually, is used by the jury administrator

to compile a list of potential jurors for state courts. Since 1997, state law

has required municipalities to include people's Social Security numbers along

with their names and addresses.

Court officials contend the Social Security numbers ensure that juror lists --

which also use names from state departments of revenue, motor vehicles and

labor -- are not filled with duplication.

Dozens of municipalities missed a February 1 deadline to provide the

information, Judicial Department spokeswoman Kay Berris said. Under state

statute, local officials who have the information and do not turn it over open

themselves up to prosecution by the state's attorney.

Ms Berris said the department was still tallying the number of cities and

towns that missed the deadline and trying to find out why.

Chief Court Administrator Robert Leuba said he will not have to resort to

prosecution. Municipal officials will change their tune once they start

hearing from citizens who get repeated jury summonses because their names are

duplicated, he said.

The court system has a right to the information, Mr Leuba said.

"We need the numbers not because we're interested in invading anyone's

privacy," he said. "We just want to make jury selection fair."

But the municipalities are backed by Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and

Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz. Mr Blumenthal reiterated comments he

made in a letter to Mr Leuba last week.

"There are very real ramifications of disclosing Social Security numbers," Mr

Blumenthal said. "Once it's in the public realm, in the possession of

retailers, con artists, there's no way to take it back."

Some local officials say they object most to the method of collection.

Residents would willingly submit their numbers to avoid repeated jury calls if

they were notified on the voter registration application that the information

would be distributed beyond municipal offices, said state Rep Peter Metz

(R-Madison.)

State Senator Eileen Daily (D-Westbrook) and others are pushing for

legislation this year to repeal or revise the mandate.

The Council of Small Towns, which has 80 member municipalities, last year

persuaded the General Assembly to overturn two similar mandates to provide

Social Security numbers to other state agencies.

Local officials also pushed for a repeal of the juror list requirement, but

state judicial officials spoke against it and the effort stalled.