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THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
___________________________
Merrimack
No. 98-204
PETER DeVERE
v.
ATTORNEY GENERAL
September 20, 2001
Backus, Meyer, Solomon, Rood & Branch, of Manchester (Jon H. Meyer on the brief and orally), for the plaintiff.
Philip T. McLaughlin, attorney general (Martha A. Moore, assistant attorney general, on the brief, and Andrew B. Livernois, attorney, orally), for the State.
Duggan, J. The State appeals from a Superior Court (McGuire, J.) order interpreting RSA 260:14, III (Supp. 2000) of the Driver Privacy Act to require disclosure of certain motor vehicle records to the plaintiff, Peter DeVere. We reverse and remand.
In August 1997, the plaintiff, a principal organizer of NH DWI Volunteers and an advocate of drunk driving related legislation, submitted a request to the New Hampshire Division of Motor Vehicles (division) under the Right-to-Know Law, see RSA ch. 91-A (1990 & Supp. 2000), seeking the names, home towns and license plate numbers for all one, two, three and four digit plates issued by the division from November 1, 1996, through December 15, 1997. The division denied his request as being inconsistent with the requirements of RSA 260:14. The plaintiff then filed a petition in superior court seeking disclosure of the information under RSA 260:14, III. In his petition, the plaintiff stated that he was seeking release of the information to cross-reference the names of persons who had been issued low-digit plates with the names of persons who had contributed to the Governor’s campaign. The plaintiff asserted "that the public has the right to be informed as to whether or not the Governor is violating the Constitution by giving out low digit license plates to campaign contributors, which is against the law, and that certain individuals are being treated differently than the ordinary citizen, and are receiving special treatment in the form of low digit plates." The plaintiff later amended his petition to seek relief under RSA 260:14, V (a)(2), V (a)(4) and VIII. At the hearing, the plaintiff testified that he needed the motor vehicle records in order to provide testimony regarding his findings to the senate transportation committee, which was considering legislation related to the issuance of low-digit license plates.
The superior court granted the petition, finding that the plaintiff’s request for the records was "for the purpose of legislative research" and ruling that "such research is ‘official business’ for purposes of RSA 260:14, III." The State filed a motion for reconsideration, arguing that RSA 260:14, III was intended to apply solely to government officials. The court denied the motion, but amended its prior order to restrict the plaintiff’s use of the motor vehicle information to the official business described in his request, i.e., legislative research related to the pending legislation, and prohibiting disclosure to any unauthorized person.
On appeal, the State argues that the superior court’s decision is at odds with the language and the purpose of the Driver Privacy Act. We agree.
In recent years both the State and federal governments have enacted laws aimed at protecting the privacy of personal information contained in motor vehicle records. See RSA 260:14; 18 U.S.C.