Hello All In light of recent discussions on this list regarding NJ Vital Records access, I thought that you should have more information on the serious piece of pending legislation that would remove virtually all Vital Records from the realm of Public Records, Assembly Bill 1390. In addition to making the records non-public, the bill would further restrict who would be allowed to obtain copies and would allow only "viewing" of the records to others. The bill also would make it against the law to "transfer, sell, share, reproduce or otherwise disclose the information to another party." There would be penalties for disclosing the information that could be serious fines or even jail time. I don't know how anyone can write a history book, article, or anything else if you can't share the information, or provide a documented source for the information. The proposed bill, Assembly Bill 1390, is a product of the Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee. You can see the proposed language at http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2006/Bills/A1500/1390_I1.PDF. You can also get there from the Genealogical Society of New Jersey's website www.gsnj.org by going to the page for Legislative Alerts (the direct page link is: http://www.rootsweb.com/~njgsnj/legislation.html.) This bill may be heard by the Assembly as early as March 2. I urge you to make contact with the sponsors of the bill via fax or email as soon as possible to ask them to amend the bill. There is a summary sheet on the GSNJ website that gives more information on the bill and proposed amended language. There are also sample letters for use by individuals and by societies and organizations. See the Legislative Alerts page on the GSNJ website I would welcome any comments or assistance that can be offered to help us get the bill changed before it is too late! My email address is: mailto:jml-gsnj@earthlink.net Thank you very much. Sincerely, Joan M. Lowry, President Genealogical Society of New Jersey www.gsnj.org

It seems to me that the genealogical community is only a small drop in a very big bucket compared to the general population. This matter is desperately important to those who are committed to studying and preserving family and local history. Yet it remains virtually unheard of to the general public. I have spoken of it with many people over the last two weeks, and not one person knew of this legislation, despite the heroic efforts of the good folks trying to remedy this. Our legislators tend to listen best when there is a major uproar from their constituents. Unfortunately, that uproar usually occurs after the damage is done. Perhaps we can trigger it a little earlier by taking the story more public. Most people get this kind of information from the evening news and newspapers. Can we enlist their help through these channels? If the news industry is interested and cooperates, it's virtually free assistance, but even if a full page ad needed to be purchased, it would be money well spent. Joan and so many others have worked so hard on this, and now it is time for all of us to get on board. Call or write to your legislator. Here's how to find yours: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/Default.asp