| Subject: One person's saga of renewing a TN drivers License |
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Date Posted: 06:53:37 05/21/09 Thu
My birthday is May 22, and this is the year to renew my drivers license. I had planned to do it today (5/20) but was in town on Mon. (5/18), so thought I would find the new office and check the hours. I really didn't expect it to be open on a Mon. and was pleasantly surprised to find it open and not too busy, so went in to get the license renewal taken care of. And it's a good thing I didn't wait until today (Wed).
They gave me a number and I sat down to wait for it to be called. It didn't take very long and I was standing at the counter with old license and wallet in hand for a quick process. The man at the desk asked if I had my Birth Certificate with me and I said No, I had presented it at the last renewal in '04. He said because of 9/11, rules had changed in '04 and because a new computer database was implemented and for our security now, they had to take a picture of it to submit with the renewal form. I said NO, they already had all the information that was on it and nothing had changed since they saw it and approved it in '04. He said, then I couldn't get a renewal, handed me back my current license and that if I didn't like it I could talk to my legislators. So I left and went home, sputtering all the way.
As soon as I got home, I called Senator Ketron's office to see about getting a copy of the law. I talked to his aide, explaining the situation and she said she would have Senator Ketron call me. He did later that evening and was astounded at what I told him. His first response was "You're kidding! They told you what?" He said he would find out about it and get back to me. The next morning (Tues), I got a call from his research analyst, Micki, who said she had been in contact with the Dept. of Safety and they had told her that that was the new law since '04 after I had gotten my last renewal. I asked Micki if she had read the actual law and did it say a 'copy' of BC was now required, or was that a rule or reg. written by someone(bureaucrat) in the department, which would NOT be law. She didn't know and said I could call the Dept. and speak to someone there and proceeded to give the name and phone number of two ladies, including the one she had spoken to. One was an Asst. Dir. and the other a Deputy Dir. I decided to go to the Dep. Dir. and gave her a call. I introduced myself, knowing she already knew the problem, and went over it all again. She said 'because of 9/11 the world changed' and in '04 the law changed. I asked her where I could find 'the law' and read it for myself. She referred me to TCA 55-50-321 and offered to find it and email it to me. I waited, but nothing came.
So, having been into the TCA before looking for something else, I got back in to look at 55-50-321, found it, copied it down and went over it line by line, marking the portions that would apply to my situation. Nowhere did it stipulate 'making a copy' of any documents required for proof of who I am & where I live. They just had to 'accompany the application' which I did in 10/01 when I moved into TN. Verification documents were accepted, approved, handed back, and license issued. Then 'the law' said, upon the 'first renewal' of a driver license issued after 1/1/01, applicant "shall provide documentation as required....' Which I had done in 5/04. Now evidently, the new computer system wasn't put up & running until 10/04 and someone in that dept. decided they needed to have 'copies.' Not just for foreigners & visa holders to weed out the illegal aliens (that wouldn't be nice to 'profile'), but everyone who got a license in TN after 1/1/01. At one point I heard it said that it would be a requirement for EVERY renewal from now on, but don't quote me.
This morning (Wed) I called again to see if the Dep. Dir. had found 'the law' to email me, but she wasn't in yet, nor was the Asst Dir, or the Director. So an office worker took a message for the Dep. Dir. and I headed out for the appointments scheduled for the day. I got to the Driver license office, got a number and waited to be called. Again I had old license and money in hand, was asked for BC, which I said I would not allow to be copied. I got out my copy of 'the law', pointed out sections where requirements were listed and when I had complied. I was turned over to an office supervisor, to whom I related that 'the law' did not require a 'copy' to be made of BC. I offered to show it to her, but she said if she saw it, she would have to make a copy of it. She went to call her supervisor, who told her to tell me to take it up with Dept of Safety in Nashville, at which point I told her I already had and here was a copy of 'the law'. She offered to call the DOS so I could talk to the Dep. Dir. again and she turned to look up the number. I reached in my purse and offered her the number, which she took and called. The Dep. Dir. told her she would have to talk to HER supervisor (the Director - we're getting to the top now.) I was asked to sit down and I would be called when a response was received. After awhile the office supervisor called me back up to the counter and told me I had been granted a 'waiver' and wanted to SEE my BC. I showed it to her keeping my fingers firmly on it. She assured me she was not going to make a copy, but had to write some of the information on the application to be sent to Nashville, returned the BC to me, then directed the clerk to process my renewal. But she stipulated that at the next renewal, I WAS GOING TO HAVE TO LET THEM MAKE A COPY. So I paid the fee, smiled sweetly for the camera & went home with a renewed license that's good until 2014. Gee, in another 5 years, I'll be 80 years old, and only God knows what condition I'll be in by then.
So from there I went to get my hair cut, repeating my story to the beautician(they talk, you know), and from there to talk to a reporter at the Elk Valley Times who suggested a letter to the editor. When I got home, there was an email from Micki at Senator Ketron's office that she had received from the Dir. of DOS authorizing a waiver of the 'copy' policy so they could issue the renewal. (i.e. Give her the dang renewal & get her off our back.) But he also stated that "However, when Real ID is implemented, Ms. Kennedy will have to have her birth certificate copied as it will be required by Federal Law." (emphasis mine)
And an email from Wanda, the Dep. Dir. of DOS with 'the law' attached along with pdfs of RULES of TN DOS (which also DO NOT require any 'copy' of BC and the Driver License Policy Directive effective 7/3/07, which does say "All citizenship and residency documents must be copied and attached to the application to come in to the central office to be microfilmed." [Anyone wanting copies of these, let me know.]
Folks.......... As of today, there is NO law requiring that birth certificates of TN citizens be copied & submitted for microfilming in order to get or renew a driver license. They have been caught in a lie. They may now be planning to go back to the legislature to correct that oversight, but for now, there is NO law. Remember, REAL ID is the goal here and so far has been thwarted in TN. We have to stay alert and diligent to watch what is coming down the pike on this and all issues.
Well, that's the story, and I'm sticking to it! Sorry to take so much space to tell it. Have a good evening.
Sue
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