Included is an open email to the genealogical community about potential record closing in Texas. I hope we will all be concerned and proactive to keep records available for our research. MESSAGE TO GENEALOGICAL SOCIETIES FROM MIC BARNETTE ... > > Hi Everyone: > > As the Texas Liaison for the Joint (National Genealogical > Society/Federation of Genealogical Societies) NGS-FGS Records > Preservation and Access Committee I have set up both a website and > email mailing list to aid us in lobbying the Texas Legislature. The > Legislature currently has several bills pending which seek to close > records to the public. Information about these bills is on the > website. > > This website is a place where we can post information about > particular bills and how to locate legislators to contact. > > The mailing list is designed as a forum for us genealogists to > communicate quickly and be able to coordinate activities in quick > mode should we have to do so. And we already have to do so. There is > a hearing at 1:30 or whenever the committee earlier in the day > adjourns- for the Senate Vterans Affairs Committee discussing SB81 > and SB 85 which both want to close DD214-Military Discharge records > in teh county clerk's offices. The hearing will be held in the Betty > King Committee Room in Austin. Anyone who attend is asked to do so > > I have included others from states outside the Republic of Texas in > this email so they can see what we are doing here. They might wish to > monitor what we do or just follow our lead and do something similar > in their own state. > > The website is located at http://micbarnette.bravepages.com/ > > There is a page on the website where one may go to subscribe to the > mailing list, however you may do so by following the attached > directions > > The mailing list may be subscribed to by sending an email to > TXLEGNOTES-L-request@rootsweb.com in the message area of the email > type subscribe. There is a digest mode at TXLEGNOTES-D- > request@rootsweb.com but it may be held up 12 hours before being > sent. For speedier mail, at least during the legislative season when > it might count, I would recomend subscribing to the L mode rather > than the D mode. After the legislative season there may not be > anything to say on this list. It will already have been said and > voted upon. > > The basic things to be concerned with at his point is about 8 bills > pending in the House and the Senate which aim to close DD214/Military > Discharges in Texas. > > Plus two new bills, one in the House and one in the Senate wanting to > extend the time birth records are closed in Texas from 50 years to 75 > years. > > Plus a bill wanting to close marriage applications to the public. > > Plus TEXSHARE/TIFF funding for schools and libraries and electronic > database access. > > Plus HIPPA which I don't know much about but which is expected to go > into effect April 14 and will probably close records which have > medical records or information in them. This bill effects insurance > and medical companies and offices. I remember hearing some people > talking about this last week they were not into genealogy. Now I have > had someone in a county clerk's office ask me about the same thing > and said it may affect their records. So, we may have to address this > problem, too. > > The whole crux of closing public records is all about Identity Theft > and the fear of it. People feel that if a record is available for use > someone must be stealing their identity. So, Identity theft and how > to protect public records from thieves and convince public officials > not to pass laws closing them is going to be our goal at least as I > envision it. > > Please pass this email to everyone in every society. We will need > some numbers to show the legislature we care. we are starting late in > the legislative season and are therefore already behind. > > Thanks, [ The identity theft motivation for closing public records is terribly misguided and reflects the poor public understanding of what identity theft is and how it occurs. *sigh* Speaking out against the closing of public records is a very good thing to do. - Mod ] Glee <gleemc@earthlink.net>