Hi GEN-NYers, I received the message below. Does anyone know the answer? I hadn't thought about it before but Valerie is right, it does sound illogical. Lynn > Dear Lynn > > I have used the FOIA to obtain records of people listed in the Social > Security death benefits list and have found only one problem with the > process -- that it is very slow. However, in New York State, there are > particular state laws preventing non-direct descendants from obtaining > vital records of a person before a certain number of years, a number > that changes depending on the type of record and whether the person is > alive. > > My question is: Does the Committee for Open Government in Albany intend > FOIA to override these privacy laws? It seems odd that I can find out > birth/parent details on someone who died in 1999 if I write to the > Frederal Govt., but I have to wait for 50 years according to NYS > regulations. All it means to genealogists is that there is a period of > time that precedes the SS list of people but that is closed to easy > research because it falls into the privacy category. It all seems > illogical. > > Valerie Clift