Below is an updated post that Sharon made to the MAMIDDLE and the MAME lists. Regards, Dick Watts ( rlwats1@msn.com ) Stoneham (MA) Historical Society, Webmaster http://www.geocities.com/stonehamhistoricalsociety/index.html Stoneham, Middlesex, MA, USGenWeb Town Coordinator http://www.geocities.com/rlwattss/USGenWeb/Stoneham/stonehamhome.html St. George, Knox, ME, USGenWeb Town Coordinator http://www.geocities.com/rlwattss/USGenWeb/stgeohomepage.html ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sharon Sergeant" <info@genealogyfair.com> To: <MAME-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, December 31, 2002 7:45 PM Subject: [MAME] Re: Massachusetts Vital Records Closed with H5158 bill passage! > Hello, > The Massachusetts Senate adjourned approximately one hour ago and they did not act on H5158, so it > is dead. > > However earlier in the afternoon, several events made things look pretty grim. > > Despite a flood of emails and phone calls to Massachusetts Senators, at noon time Senator Fargo > was positively beaming about the progress made on this bill as the "best that we would ever get" > and that it WOULD BE PASSED to the great consternation of a knowledgeable and outspoken critic > reading the exact text in Senator Fargo's office. (third hand report but from reliable sources, > though so I was concerned) > > At 3pm I received word that the House had engrossed the bill and sent it to the Senate at > approximately 2:30 pm. > > But things started to break around 4pm when the Massachusetts Genealogical Council (MGC) Director > of Civil Records received an irate phone call from a previous ally suggesting that the bill WOULD > NOT BE PASSED and that it would have been the "best that you would ever get". This previous ally > had since caved in but had been instrumental in trying to work the language issues since the July > formal sessions. Unfortunately, the substance behind the language was not clearly understood and > political pressures weigh on logic. > > At 4:45 pm, a call to the Clerk of the Senate revealed that the bill had had no action in the > Senate, that House had just come back from recess and that the Senate was due back momentarily. > > At 6:30pm, a call to the Clerk of the Senate revealed that the bill had had no action in the > Senate and that the Senate had adjourned for the year. > > End of H5158, but clearly not an end to the ignorance that causes so many folks to make statements > about such legislation being the "best that you would ever get" - when it would have closed > currently open records and restricted access. > > It's only the end of one legislative session and one chapter in addressing ignorance and > reasonable remedies for realistic problems. > > Thank you one and all for your efforts and support. > > Happy New Year! > > Sharon Sergeant, Program Director > Massachusetts Genealogical Council > http://massgencouncil.home.attbi.com/index.htm > > --- Sharon Sergeant <info@genealogyfair.com> wrote: > > > > MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE BILL H5158 - OPEN RECORDS CLOSED! > > > > The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) initiative to RESTRICT the current and > > historically OPEN vital records of the Commonwealth with House Bill H5158 HAS PASSED THE MA > > HOUSE > > TODAY December 30, 2002! > > > > All that remains is the Massachusetts Senate and Exiting Governor's rubber stamp . > > > > Did YOU have the opportunity to review the text and give your testimony in HEARINGS? NO! > > > > Do you even have ACCESS to the H5158 text? NO! > > > <snip> > > ===== > Sharon Sergeant > Ancestors and Ephemera > http://GenealogyFair.com > Bring Your Ancestors Home! > > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > >