Texas considers pulling employee birth dates from public records

Texas lawmakers are considering pulling from public records the birth dates of state employees, in a bid to guard against identity theft, the Associated Press reports.

Public hearings are underway in the state House and Senate on proposed legislation that would shield the birth dates from public view. According to the AP, the issue stems from a Dallas Morning News public payroll records request; the comptroller’s office refused to release the birth dates despite the state attorney general and several courts having determined those records are public. The Morning News has its own take on the story.