The director of the Department of Revenue has resigned amid the controversy involving the illegal scanning and keeping of personal identification information for those seeking driver licenses and conceal and carry weapons licenses.
The Senate has launched an investigation into the document scanning, saying turning such information over to the federal government is not allowed under Missouri law.
Gov. Jay Nixon’s office says director Brian Long has resigned and deputy director John Mollenkamp, who has been a key figure in the investigative hearings, is taking over as acting director. Nixon spokesman Scott Holste says Long was not asked to step down, but that his letter of resignation says the recent investigation has taken a tremendous toll on his family life.
“I want to thank Brian for his service to the state of Missouri in heading up this department, and wish him well in his future endeavors,” Nixon said in a press release.
Mollenkamp, a native of Rolla, has served as Deputy Director of Revenue since 2011. Prior to taking that position, he was a clinical professor of law at Cornell Law School. Mollenkamp also served as an associate professor of legal writing at the University of Missouri School of Law. He was a Missouri assistant attorney general for several years, and also was in private practice in Joplin. Mollenkamp obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Missouri and his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law.
Long has served as the director of the Council on Public Higher Education (COPHE) in Missouri, the association of the state’s public universities, since 2005. He also was the chief operating officer for Transit Casualty Company from 2002 to 2011, where he managed the daily operations of a $1.5 billion property and casualty insurance receivership. From 2001 to 2002, Long was the state budget director for Missouri, responsible for developing and presenting the Governor’s annual budget recommendations to the General Assembly. From 1990 to 2000, he worked in various positions in the executive and legislative branches of Missouri government. Long has a doctorate in geography from Syracuse University, and obtained his master’s and undergraduate degrees in geography from the University of Missouri.
He had been named Director of Revenue in December 2012.
Read Long’s letter of resignation.
