Idaho lawmakers to consider Social Security penalties

PRESS RELEASE - Idaho lawmakers to consider Social Security penalties

BOISE, Idaho -- Idaho lawmakers announced today that they will look at legislation next year that would create financial liabilities for publishing or distributing another person's Social Security numbers obtained from public documents.


The action comes after the Idaho Democrat Party violated the privacy of Bill and Terry Sali when the party published and distributed thousands of fliers containing the Salis' Social Security numbers. The Idaho Republican Party has asked the U.S. Attorney General's Office to investigate whether any laws were broken.

The Salis' Social Security numbers were contained in 20-year-old documents filed with the Ada County Recorders Office. The documents come from an era when it was common to use Social Security numbers in paperwork accessible to the public.


Details of the legislation are still being worked out, but lawmakers say clearly, there is a problem when there are no repercussions for the misuse of such sensitive private data. The action of the Democrat Party exposes Bill and Terry Sali to identity theft. The couple is now using a service to protect their accounts from fraud. That service will cost them $20 a month for the rest of their lives.

"If you obtain personal information such as a Social Security number, you bear responsibility for how that information is used. Making thousands of copies of a Social Security number and distributing it across the state is not only irresponsible, it's dangerous," said House Speaker Lawerence Denney. "If you publish a person's Social Security number, you should have some obligation for resulting costs to the victims, whether that cost comes from fraud or from the purchase of services to prevent fraud."


"This is definitely something we need to take a look at," said Sen. Brad Little of Emmett. "Hopefully, we can come up with a way to make people think twice about how they use sensitive information."

Other lawmakers who have expressed an interest in this type of legislation include Sens. Patti Anne Lodge of Huston and John McGee of Caldwell.


Lodge said it is unfortunate that the Democrats used private information in their mailer. "It's situations like this that cause good people to not want to run for public office," said Lodge.

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