Kansas and 20 other states refuse to comply with U.S. Department of Agriculture requests for demographic information, even with disclosures from USDA that 186,000 dead people are listed on the food stamp rolls only in the 29 states that provide their data. The Sunflower State’s stated concern for the privacy of SNAP recipients does not extend to your driver’s license information. With your consent, the state sells your demographic information. First reported by KCTV 5 and KWCH, Kansas made over $1 million in 2024, which amounts to acting as an information broker. And, it’s all legal.
An obscure federal law, the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act of 1994, allows states to profit from the data. KCTV 5 reports Kansas completed transactions last year with R.L. Polk, an automotive data and marketing company, and Experian, one of the three major credit bureaus, to the tune of $1,164,000.
Excerpts of the law define what the state can offer to its customers:
“Personal Information” means information that identifies an individual, including an individual’s photograph, social security number, driver identification number, name, address (but not the 5-digit zip code), telephone number, and medical or disability information, but does not include information on vehicular accidents, driving violations, and driver’s status.
“Highly Restricted Personal Information” means an individual’s photograph or image, social security number, medical or disability information; and
“Express Consent” means consent in writing, including consent conveyed electronically that bears an electronic signature as defined in Section 106(5) of Public Law 106-229.
Connie Phelps of McLouth probably answered for most Kansans when asked for her reaction by Channel 5:
“Did you know that? No, I had no idea.”
Meanwhile, a preliminary examination of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) claims by the U.S. Department of Agriculture has found some 186,000 deceased individuals on the food stamp rolls, and approximately 500,000 receiving benefits in multiple states, according to Secretary Brooke Rollins. And that’s from just over half the states; 29 submitted data for review by USDA. The other 21, including Kansas, refuse to share personal data on recipients in their states.
Calculations following the end of the government shutdown estimate 42 million Americans receive food stamps, 14% of our population.
“There are vulnerable families in America that need this program that aren’t getting it because of the fraud and abuse that now we’re going to work to fix,” Rollins said.
Kelly administration refuses to release SNAP data
Responding to the USDA request for information, Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) Secretary Laura Howard this summer refused release of the data:
“DCF is committed to the security of Kansans’ personal information and maintaining confidentiality consistent with state and federal law. This demand for personal information goes beyond the scope of administering the program and puts in jeopardy the privacy of hundreds of thousands of Kansans who depend on SNAP to put food on their tables.”
DCF administers the food stamp program in Kansas.
The action taken by the Administration of Governor Laura Kelly invited a lawsuit by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach to force the release of the data.
However, days later, U.S. District Judge Maxine Chesney in California issued an injunction banning the USDA from collecting the data in the remaining 21 states in response to a lawsuit filed by several states opposing the USDA directive. Kansas was not a party to that lawsuit.
In response to the judge’s ruling, USDA will require all food stamp recipients to reapply for their benefits. Secretary Rollins told Newsmax the intention is to “have everyone reapply for their benefits, make sure that everyone that’s taking a taxpayer-funded benefit through … food stamps, that they literally are vulnerable and they can’t survive without it.”
Both the Biden and Trump Administrations sent letters to DCF urging the agency to improve the efficiency of the SNAP program, as both the state’s Payment Error Rate (PER) and its Case and Procedural Error Rate (CAPER), which measures how policy is implemented in the program, are above the national average.
Neither the Kansas Department of Revenue which runs the Department of Motor Vehicles, nor Secretary Howard with DCF would offer comment for this story.
