This email was passed on to me recently. Even though it concerns California researchers, it bears watching as it could set a precedent for other states to follow suit!! There is an email address at the bottom if you care to follow development of this bill. California Senate Bill 1614 Threatens To Close Genealogy Records > >California Senate Bill 1614 is a threat to all genealogists. >First, it threatens anyone researching California families since >this bill, if passed, will reduce access to California records. >Secondly, it threatens all genealogists as this could become a >precedent, encouraging other states to similarly restrict access >to birth and death records. > >The passage of California Senate Bill 1614 will close the indexes >to both birth and death records. These indexes will then be >replaced by a "non comprehensive index" that can only be viewed at >the California Department of Health Services and/or in individual >county recorders offices. No indexes would be available online, on >CD-ROM or in print in any other place. > >The legislative do-gooders have proposed this obnoxious >legislation as a method of preventing identity theft. However, >neither the California State Department of Health Services nor any >of the county clerks have ever found any incidents where present >identity thefts could be linked to either the sale of birth or >death certificates or to these indexes. In other words, this piece >of legislation is being proposed because someone thinks that there >might be a future problem, not because of any recognized past or >present issue. The impact to genealogists, however, will be felt >immediately if this proposed legislation becomes law. > >Senate Bill 1614, "Closure of the Birth and Death Records >Indexes," passed the California Judiciary Committee on May 7, >2002. It had a rather silly amendment tacked onto it, requiring >that people who have already purchased the public domain indexes >in the past to now keep the information within the indexes >confidential. This retroactive prohibition of previously produced >public domain data seems a bit far-fetched to me. > >Senate Bill 1614 will next be heard in the Appropriations >Committee. If it is passed in the Appropriations Committee, it >will then go to the Floor of the Senate for a vote. If it passes >there, it will go to the State Assembly. Two rules committees in >the Assembly must also hear it. Because of the nature of the bill, >it should be referred to the Judiciary and then to the >Appropriations Committees, in that order. > >You can follow the developments of this bill on the California >State Genealogical Alliance Web site at: >http://www.csga.com/legislative_watch.htm.