Hello everyone, I know this isn't specifically an Indiana topic, but since so many people with Indiana ancestry also have Ohio ancestry, I thought I should pass along an update to my earlier post about the threat to Ohio vital records access. We lost on Ohio House Bill 95. On 5 June, the Senate approved House Bill 95 (it was approved by the Senate Finance Committee on 3 June). With HB95, there will no longer be uncertified copies of vital records available from the Ohio Department of Health and the local vital statistics registrars. Also, certified copies will have an additional $5 surcharge (making the cost of a certified copy a minimum of $15, as the local registrars will also no longer be allowed to charge less than the state). House Bill 95 will go into effect 1 July 2003 (so get any certificates you need *now*). You can read the bill as passed by the Senate at: http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/BillText125/125_HB_95_PS_N.html The pertinent sections are 3705.23 and 3705.24. (It is a huge page; be patient while it loads.) Because this language matches the House version of the bill, there is little hope that it would change in the committee working to reconcile the House and Senate versions. The Ohio Genealogical Society Board of Trustees approved a resolution explaining the ramifications of HB95 to Ohio genealogists. Copies of this resolution was hand-delivered to every Ohio Senator's office. Representatives of the Board met with representatives of the Ohio Department of Health. Included in the resolution and in the discussions were good, reasonable, logical explanations as to why eliminating uncertified copies will do nothing to prevent identity theft. We gave them possible alternatives so that uncertified copies would no longer be a financial hardship on the agencies involved. Even with these actions, as well as the countless phone calls, letters, and e-mails to the Ohio Senate from genealogists and organizations from across the state and the nation, the bill went through unchanged. It is likely (even probable) that the next step will be to restrict access -- either with a time restriction and/or an access restriction (only qualified parties can get a copy of the record). People have reported that local vital statistics registrars are stating that they are not allowed to issue copies except to the person or the next of kin. HB 95 made no such provisions. However, these instances of restrictions need to be noted so that those agencies can be properly informed on what the current requirements are. It is a very sad time in Ohio genealogy. Unfortunately, this may be only the tip of the iceberg.