FYI - I sent an email to Joe Nation and got this reply over the weekend also sent a stronger message to John Burton who initially voted *in favor* of this - but got no reply this time, yet) ... I suggest you all tailor a correspondence identifying your experience and send it on as well. The text from "Experts agree...." to "fund a bill that will not work" was copied from Iris Jones latest report.... Keep up the pressure folks, it is having an effect! Jana -----Original Message----- From: Nation, Joe [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, August 12, 2002 11:59 AM To: 'Jana Black' Subject: RE: SB 1614 Thank you for taking the time to contact me. I hope to respond to your concerns in the coming weeks. JOE NATION Assemblyman, Marin & Sonoma Counties -----Original Message----- From: Jana Black [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Saturday, August 10, 2002 3:11 PM To: [email protected] Subject: SB 1614 Hello, I have been involved in genealogical research for over 30 years and am a retired Ross Valley School District librarian (oversaw 5 libraries). I am very well versed not only in research methodologies but also in using the internet as a research tool. SB 1614 is a SHAM! It will *NOT ACCOMPLISH* what it sets out to do! Identity Theft is certainly an important issue, but taxpayer's money needs to be used to target approaches that will *actually* eliminate routes to identity theft. Rather, this bill serves to scare people with what cannot be proved and thus amounts to hype, while removing access to important research indices for legitimate family history researchers! Experts agree that the majority of identity theft occurs through the literal theft of mail, purses, or wallets, through on-line and telephone scams, and occasionally through the misuse of birth and death CERTIFICATES - *NOT* the indices. In support of this fact, both the Department of Justice and the State's Office of Privacy Protection confirm that neither office has documentation that the indices have been used for identity theft. SB1614 will cost the state of California more then $2 million dollars in the first year alone. In addition, there will be *annual* local mandated costs which will run into multimillions of dollars. In California's current budget CRISIS, taxpayer's dollars must not be used to fund a bill that won't work. As a Marin County Resident, California voter, former Program Chair and current webmaster for the Marin County Genealogical Society, current Southwest/Southcentral County Coordinator Representative for the US GenWeb Project, teacher and lecturer on internet research methodology and a member of California State Genealogical Alliance, the Association for Professional Genealogists, the Association for Personal Historians, the National Genealogical Society and the Federation of Genealogical Societies, I urge you to do whatever you can to apply pressure to members of the Assembly Appropriations Committee to VOTE NO ON SB1614 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Jana McPherson Black [address information removed, but included in original message]