SPRINGFIELD – State Representative Ruth Munson passed legislation out of the Illinois House of Representatives Thursday that will require County Recorders of Deeds to take additional precautions in securing social security numbers when contained on documents filed with their office.
“We have a right to expect that our government will protect us from identity theft, after all we pass more and more laws requiring the private sector to do the same,” explained Munson. “But, after complaints from constituents and a survey conducted by the Social Security Number Protection Task Force, it became clear that state and local governments need to take a look at their own operations.”
House Bill 5586 requires County Recorders of Deeds to redact or remove personal information from Internet websites when requested by individuals affected. Personal information includes: social security number, employer taxpayer identification, drivers license number, state identification number, passport number, bank account number, credit card number, debit card number or personal identification (PIN) code.
The legislation also requires County Recorders that publicly display records on the Internet to create and implement a policy that outlines a timeline for removing all social security numbers from all records posted online. Recorders that launch websites after the effective date of the legislation must develop and implement a policy for providing for the redaction of social security numbers from all records prior to pubic display of such records on an internet website.
Finally, HB 5586 prohibits any person or entity from filing documents containing social security numbers with the County Recorder of Deeds.
“I believe government entities should do everything possible to protect our constituents’ identities,” said Munson. “I encourage people to check their County Recorder of Deeds website to see if their social security number is available online. If it is, ask the Recorder’s office to remove it from the website.”
This legislation combined with HB 4219, the Identity Protection Act which Munson passed earlier this year, will provide greater protections for Illinois residents when government entities have access to their social security numbers.
Both HB 5586 and HB 4219 have moved to the Senate for consideration.
In 2005, Munson sponsored legislation creating the Social Security Number Protection Task Force to find solutions to the problems associated with identity theft and social security numbers. She served as its chair until 2007 and continues to serve as an at-large member as the task force looks at ways to move away from the use of social security numbers for identification purposes.
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