News from the FGS:

(Federation of Genealogical Societies "FGS Delegate Digest" Volume 12, No. 2    Feb 2005)

RECORD PRESERVATION AND ACCESS COMMITTEE REPORT

Dear Delegates,

As you are aware, in December 2004 Congress passed and President Bush signed the Intelligence Bill (HR10/S2845). The Genealogical Society of Utah supports the Intelligence Bill in its intent to fight terrorism. Prior to the Intelligence Bill's passage, on October 29, 2004, Senator Orrin G. Hatch graciously sent a letter to the Senate conferees on behalf
of the Utah Congressional delegation, proposing that the bill include the following language:

"NON-APPLICABILITY TO NON-CERTIFIED BIRTH CERTIFICATES--Nothing in [this Section] shall be construed to limit a State or local government record custodian from issuing non-certified copies of birth certificates or birth records for genealogical research or other purposes."
Unfortunately, this language was not included in the final version of the bill that was passed by Congress and signed by President Bush. It appears, however, that there may be a second chance to make this important clarification.
Section 7211, sub-section (b)(3) provides that, "[n]ot later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall by regulation establish minimum standards for birth certificates for use by federal agencies for official purposes" that meet certain requirements as specified in the bill. These requirements include, among other things, who can obtain copies of birth certificates. We will be sending you further information to write to the Department of Health and Human Services to let them know the genealogical perspective on these regulations. Please watch for this ommunication from FGS and be prepared to have your members respond as quickly as possible. This notice is being sent at this time FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY. Please wait until we can coordinate our approach to affect these regulations.

Washington SB 5403
This bill delegates to the state department of health the authority to adopt rules providing for the release of birth certificate records. It limits the persons who can obtain copies of these certificates to close relatives, attorneys, and other officials. It appears to be a reaction to
the birth certificate provisions of the federal Intelligence Bill (HR 10/S 2845) that passed Congress and was signed by President Bush in December 2004.Recommendation: FGS and the local genealogical community in Washington state should do two things:
1.    Propose that this bill include the same language that Senator Hatch proposed for inclusion in the Intelligence Bill, i.e., "NON-APPLICABILITY TO NON-CERTIFIED BIRTH CERTIFICATES--Nothing herein shall be construed to limit a State or local government record custodian from issuing non-certified copies of birth certificates or birth records for genealogical research or other purposes."
2.    Become involved in the department of health's rule-making process to protect the rights of family historians.

Arkansas SB 200
This bill would include military service discharge records as records that are NOT open to the public. However, such records would be open to the public for veterans discharged from the service more than 70 years previously. Recommendation: FGS and the local genealogical societies should support this bill, as it confirms in law that old military service records will be
available to genealogists.

New Mexico HB 353
This bill provides that military discharge papers are NOT open to the public for inspection. However, unlike the Arkansas bill immediately above, there is no 70-year rule.
Recommendation: FGS and the local genealogical societies should oppose this bill in its entirety or should seek to protect the privacy of living veterans and the rights of genealogists by proposing that such records cease to be confidential after 50 or 70 years.

Tennessee Senate Bill 760
This bill says that a birth certificate is no longer deemed to be a public record. However, it then refers to a currently existing provision that makes birth certificates publicly available 100 years after the birth. Therefore, there is no action to be take on this matter. Isn't it interesting that Tennessee is saying that a birth certificate is not a public record?

South Dakota Senate Bill 41
This bill differentiates between informational copies of birth records and certified copies. Informational copies are available to any person who can identify the birth record by providing the name of the person on the birth record, the date of birth, the mother's maiden name, or additional information required to locate the record. After 100 years, birth records are available to the public without restriction. There is no need to take action in this case, as the 100-year rule is already in effect in South Dakota.

Virginia House Bill 1687
This bill would make a grandparent an eligible person to obtain a certified copy of birth certificate.

David E. Rencher
Chair, Records Preservation and Access Committee