STATE UPDATES Here's what's making family history headlines in Ohio, Texas, Maine and New Jersey: * If you haven't ordered copies of your Ohio ancestors'vital records, do it soon. As early as July 1, Ohio counties will charge an extra $5 for obtaining certified copies of birth and death records. That means certified copies will cost at least $12, because counties currently must charge at least $7. This price hike stems from a proposed state budget bill-pending approval by state legislators--that would require the fee to help fund digitization of vital records. The bill also would prevent the issuance of uncertified copies of vital records--now available for mere pennies-in order to curb fraudulent use of the records. * Proposed budget cuts threaten to close the University of Texas' Center for Studies in Texas History, a genealogical gem in Austin. The center works with the renowned Texas State Historical Association to publish the "Southwestern Historical Quarterly," now in its 107th year of publication, and "The New Handbook of Texas," a six-volume guide to Texas people, places and history that's now searchable online at http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online. Learn more about the Texas State Historical Association and Center for Studies in Texas History at http://www.tsha.utexas.edu * Good news for Maine researchers! Rather than cutting programs--as every other state seems to be doing of late-legislators are working on the New Century Community Bond, a provision to allocate $4 million for cultural improvements. The bond would provide $500,000 to the Maine Historical Society to upgrade the Maine Memory Network, an online database of the state's historical documents, including letters, journals, photographs, maps, and sound and video files. Visit the Maine Memory Network Web site at http://www.mainememory.net, and urge your local legislators to support the New Century Community Bond. * There's even more good news for New Jersey researchers: The New Jersey Division of Archives & Records Management has launched a browsable online catalog of its 27,000 cubic feet and 25,000 reels of historical and genealogical records at http://www.njarchives.org/links/catalog.html. Now, you can see what the archives holds before planning a trip to Trenton. Plus, the catalog includes a New Jersey county map with information about when each county was formed, as well as a place-names search. *** Reprinted with permission from Family Tree Magazine Email Update, copyright 2003 F&W Publications Inc. To subscribe to this free weekly e-mail newsletter, go to http://www.familytreemagazine.com/newsletter.asp. For a free sample copy of the print Family Tree Magazine, America's #1 family history magazine, go to http://www.familytreemagazine.com/specialoffers.asp?FAMfreeissue