I was alerted to the following article in the Ithaca Journal by the Genealogy Blog <http://www.genealogyblog.com/> website. http://www.theithacajournal.com/news/stories/20050616/localnews/2161979.html County pledges marginal fee increase ANDREW TUTINO Journal Staff ITHACA - Though some counties may increase the costs of birth and death certificates to $30 per copy, Tompkins County's increase won't be so significant. If Gov. George Pataki signs a new law that will allow counties to charge up to $30 for each copy of a birth and death certificate, Tompkins County fees will be raised to $15, said Alice Cole, the commissioner of the health department. Cole said the county charges $10 for each birth and death certificate, but it planned to increase the costs to $15 each once the law, which was passed by the Senate on Tuesday, was signed by the governor. Cole said the $30 fee is too much for citizens, but the county wanted to increase the costs somewhat to offset expenses. "Thirty dollars will be really excessive," Cole said. "I don't see $30 in our near future at all." Marjorie Tracy, an Ithaca woman who is a genealogist, said the $30 fee can cause hardship on people searching for vital records. "Raising the price can be a big hindrance for a lot of people," she said. For Tracy, she has had to put off a search to find the death certificate of her great grandfather because she does not know what county he died in. For each three-year window, it would cost her $30 to perform a search in some places even if the certificate is not found. "I don't know where he is," she said. "If you don't know where and when a person died, you can rack up a lot of money in searches." Tompkins, Chemung, Monroe and Onondaga counties were not part of legislation passed two years ago that allowed the state to charge up to $30 per copy of birth and death certificates because each of those counties had its own office of vital records. Monroe received approval to raise its fees a year ago, and Onondaga, Chemung and Tompkins pushed for the new law that would allow them to follow suit. The law, sponsored by state Sen. George Winner, R-53rd District, passed in the Senate on Tuesday by a 60-1 vote. It passed in the Assembly earlier this month 80-59. Once Pataki signs the bill, the counties can increase the fee immediately. Cole said the Tompkins County Board of Health will OK the increase to $15 locally, however, and then give notice to the public that the fees will be increased. "We want to give some people lead time," Cole said. "We want to give the public a notice that we will be making the change." The Health Department budgeted for the increase to $15 for this year. Cole is not sure if the fee will increase in 2006. Gannett News Service contributed to this report.