Sep. 25, 2023
HARRISBURG – In light of the governor’s recent announcement to implement an automatic voter registration when Commonwealth residents obtain or renew a PennDOT driver’s license or photo identification card, Rep. Valerie Gaydos (R-Allegheny) today called on the House to act on her bill to automatically interconnect all state agency data and information collection and services so that records match, government can operate more efficiently and citizens may get the most of the government for which they pay.
House Bill 970 would ensure that when a resident changes their voter registration address or registers to vote that the Department of State would transmit the information from voter registration applications and address changes to both state and local agencies, such as the Department of Transportation for driver’s licenses and car registration, and taxing authorities, such as local municipalities.
“With the cost of government increasing every day, it is simply imperative to streamline government as much as possible,” Gaydos said. “State and local government agencies often struggle with keeping up-to-date with data across agencies that is associated with each resident in the system. This is a better way to provide convenience and efficiency to our citizenry, as well as government agencies, thus ensuring that all records automatically match.
“The bill would also allow agencies providing services to determine if someone still meets residency requirements for services provided and received should they change their address,” Gaydos added. “We saw how important this was during the pandemic when the Department of Human Services for Medicaid payments and the Department of Labor and Industry for unemployment claims were sending information to incorrect addresses so people had difficulty accessing services. Also, there have been improper payments made to people who are no longer eligible for services when they have moved. This is due to state or local agencies not being informed of address changes.”
The legislation is currently before the House State Government Committee for its consideration.
“The governor has been trying to make access to government easier and more efficient for residents, so it only makes sense to have the records from all state agencies and local governments match automatically too,” Gaydos said. “If people are going to be automatically enrolled to participate in one part of government, efforts should be made to automatically ensure that all records and responsibilities across the board match too.”
Representative Valerie Gaydos
44th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Rick Leiner
717.260.6437
rleiner@pahousegop.com
RepGaydos.com / Facebook.com/RepGaydos