Gov. Nixon addressing budget cuts

Gov. Nixon addressed the funding cuts to drivers license bureaus on Wednesday.

The governor said reducing of a third of its budget is unprecedented. He is currently planning to eliminate staff and positions within the department of motor vehicles by July 1.

A panel of House and Senate members agreed on Tuesday to the changes for next year at the motor vehicle division in the Department of Revenue. The intent is to provide the rest of the money if the agency makes changes to its licensing procedures by next January.

Republican lawmakers are upset about new procedures in which license clerks are making electronic copies of applicants’ personal documents such as birth certificates.

They also are upset that a list of concealed gun permit holders was shared by the Highway Patrol with a federal fraud investigator.