You have to prove your kinship before you can obtain your great grandfather’s records

1. “NYC is a closed jurisdiction and we are not public records.” Right to be forgotten Sorry, due to budget cuts, we are only open to the public on the third Wednesday of every other month. Only the dead can get copies of their death records Access Denied! You have to prove your kinship before you can obtain your great grandfather’s records So, what can we DO about this?

2. The Times They Are A-Changing! T 219 28 August 2014 San Antonio, Texas

3. Agenda • Jan Alpert, Chair, RPAC • About RPAC • Three-year restriction to Social Security Death Index • RPAC requesting Amendment to Sec. 203 • Jan Meisels Allen, Chair, IAJGS Public Records Access Monitoring Com. • 2011 Revision Model Vital Statistics Act • 2014 Examples of State Vital Records Legislation • European Union Update • Fred Moss, Counsel for FGS • Genealogists’ Declaration of Rights • Know Your Legislators: Talking Points & Sample Letter • Congressional Recess: Make Your Voice Heard • Q & A

4. About RPAC • Joint Committee of FGS, NGS, and IAJGS • Participating organizations: APG, ASG, BCG, and ICAPGen. • Other participants: Ancestry & ProQuest • State Liaisons (30 of the 50 states currently represented)

5. Records Preservation & Access Committee Participants • Jan Alpert, Chair (SC) • Josh Taylor, FGS (MA) • Fred Moss, FGS (TX) • David Rencher, FGS (UT) • Curt Witcher, FGS (IN) • Linda McCleary, FGS (AZ) • Barbara Mathews, BCG (MA) • Roger D. Joslyn, ASG (NY) • Linda Gulbrandsen, ICAPGEN (UT) • Jan Meisels Allen, IAJGS (CA) • Ken Ryesky, IAJGS (NY) • Jordan Jones, NGS, (NC) • Donn Devine, NGS (DE) • Darrell Jackson, NGS (MI) • Kelvin Meyers, APG (TX) • Lou Szucs, Ancestry (IL) • Bill Forsyth, ProQuest (UT)

6. RPAC Mission • Advocate open access to vital records • Support strong preservation policies & practices • Advise community about federal, state, and sometimes local regulations and legislation • Coordinate genealogical community response

7. How RPAC Works • Monthly evening conference call—First Thursday each month • Presentations in 2014 at FGS, IAJGS & NGS • RPAC Blog at http://www.FGS.org/rpac • RPAC email list • State Liaisons conference calls and mailing list

8. RPAC Bloghttp://www.fgs.org/rpac/

9. RPAC Blog http://www.fgs.org/rpac/publications

10. Pick Up the RPAC Brochureat the RPAC Booth # 604

11. How We Hear About Threats Members of RPAC committee Participating organizations in RPAC State Liaisons Genealogy Blogs

12. How RPAC Responds to Threats RPAC supports and assists local genealogy groups and state liaisons Monitors bills as the legislation progresses Communicates threats and bill status Prepares written statements for key committee hearings Posts sample letters to legislators Talking Points for visits with your legislators

13. State Liaisons—How Selected • Normally by state umbrella society • Looking for volunteers interested in the political process • Who possibly worked in government affairs, state, or local government • If interested see me after this presentation

14. State Liaison Roster • Elizabeth Olson (GA) • Jeanie Lowe (IL) • Curt Witcher (IN) • Cynthia Hofmeister (LA) • Barbara Mathews (MA) • Helen Shaw (ME) • Cynthia Grostick (MI) • Nancy Waller Thomas (MO) • Elizabeth Wells (AL) • Connie Bradbury (AK) • Linda McCleary (AZ) • Jan Davenport (AR) • David Coward (CO) • Robert Rafford (CT) • Donn Devine (DE) • Frank Laurent (FL)

15. State Liaison Roster • Bernice Schroer (NV) • Joan Lowry (NJ) • Derek Davey (OH) • Billie Fogarty (OK) • Leslie Lawson (OR) • James Beidler (PA) • John Andrews, Jr. (SC) • Carla Maitland (TN) • Teri Flack (TX) • Linda Gulbrandsen (UT) • John Leppman (VT) • Barbara Vines Little (VA) • Eric Stroschein (WA) • Pam Anderson (WI) State Liaisons in the room please stand

16. Liaisons Needed • California • Hawaii • Idaho • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Maryland • Minnesota • Mississippi • Montana • Nebraska • New Hampshire • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Rhode Island • South Dakota • West Virginia • Wyoming

17. National Coalition for History • RPAC has recently joined NCH for 2015 • http://www.historycoalition.org • Includes more than 55 historical and archival organizations and societies • We share similar interests in open access to records • Provides some visibility in Washington, DC

18. Current Threats to Vital Records Access • Closure of the SSDI record for three years from person’s death. • Since November 2011, the Social Security Administration is providing less data • Model State Vital Statistics Act will increase the embargo periods on access to Vital Records

19. 2013 Bipartisan Budget Act • Passed both houses in December • Signed by the President 26 December 2013 • Death Master File/SSDI record closed for 3 years after death • Must be certified by the Department of Commerce to access the DMF/SSDI during the 3 year embargo period

20. 2013 Bipartisan Budget Act • Hearing on 4 March 2014. • Fred Moss, counsel for FGS testified • 111 participated in person or via webcast • Statements to Commerce on Interim Rule were sent in April 2014 by RPAC and others • We have allies: Statements also filed by insurance companies, industry associations, banks or credit services, pensions funds, and various service providers

21. 2013 Bipartisan Budget Act • Interim rule allowed certification for forensic genealogists. A few became certified. • $200 to become certified, annual fee to access data is $995, less data, inadequate search engine • Audit and security requirements • $1,000 fine if SSDI information disclosed to anyone uncertified • Multi-user costs are $14,500 annually

22. RPAC Requesting Amendment to Sec. 203 • Redact the SSN and make the non-sensitive information available during the three-year embargo period . • Require the SSA to release all the information including middle name or initial, year and state SSN was issued, and last residence or where the last payment was sent.

23. Jan Meisels Allen Member, RPAC Chairperson, IAJGS Public Records Access Monitoring Committee President, Jewish Genealogical Society of the Conejo Valley and Ventura County (JGSCV) jan@iajgs.org

24. Genealogists without records can’t do genealogy! We are facing crises worldwide on access to vital records Due to misunderstanding by those in power about Identity Theft and due to Budget Cuts

25. 2011 RevisionModel State Vital Statistics Act • Working group reported revision May 2011 • Restricts access to birth records for 125 years • Restricts access to marriage or divorce records for 100 years • Restricts access to death records for 75 years • Restricts access to indices until the embargo dates • Requires confidentiality restrictions on indices as well as records

26. 2011 RevisionModel State Vital Statistics Act • April 2012 Dept. of Health & Human Services (HHS) put Model Act “on hold” • January 2013 HHS promulgates final regulation on privacy and permits medical information on deceased to be released after 50 years less than revision act of 75 years

27. Remember to Watch For Regulations Too • Regulations are way for state regulators to require actions that are not in state law and to “reinterpret” state laws • We have already seen changes in the privacy language for Maine Vital Records proposed regulations

28. Recent Vital Records Legislation Oregon—State Liaison, Leslie Lawson • Passed with no change in embargo periods • Limited access to the indices Maine—State Liaison, Helen Shaw • Law changed 2010. • Researcher card to provide access to genealogists • 2014 pending regulations incorporate some Model Act provisions (to make the indices private) Texas—State Liaison Teri Flack • Letter writing campaign by Texas genealogists made a difference. The bill died in committee.

29. Recent Vital Records Legislation Oklahoma—State Liaison, Billie Fogarty • Bill passed in 2012 but no one noticed • Only the deceased could obtain a copy of his/her death certificate • 2014 law changed to 125 year embargo birth records and 75 years death records. Connecticut—State Liaison, Robert Rafford • Birth records are closed for 100 years, but members of a Connecticut genealogical society can have access. • Currently public can only purchase marriage and death records and birth over 100 years but not inspect them.

30. Recent Vital Records Legislation • Washington—State Liaison, Eric Stroschein • Did not have administration support and never became a bill. • Where RPAC and the genealogical community proactively worked together, there has been limited adverse change.

31. New York City Department of Health and Access to Birth and Death Certificates "We do not follow that state law. NYC is a closed jurisdiction and we are not public records. For birth and death certificates, you must show entitlement. There aren't an amount of years when our records become public yet."

32. How can you help?

33. Things to Do Now • Find out when your state’s legislature begins and ends. Many start in January- but the end dates vary- some go year ‘round • See: http://www.statescape.com/Resources/Sessions/Sessions.aspx?h=&year=2014 • Identify your representatives, their contact information, and make your selves known to them

34. What You and Your Society Can Do • Invite your local legislators to a Society meeting • Send all your legislators-federal, state, local your blog/newsletter—remember you and your society members are their constituents • Stop into their local offices and get to know them and their staffs

35. Why Lobbying Matters 97 percent of Congressional staff say that in-person issues visits from constituents influence policymakers, with 46 percent reporting it has a lot of influence. (Source: 2011 poll by Congressional Management Foundation)

36. Tool Kit For State Liaisons See: http://tinyurl.com/83q6t8m Interview on Records Access http://tinyurl.com/qhansx2

37. 2013 IAJGS Letter to 28 EU Members’ Ministers of Justice • Right to be remembered- re: holocaust victims • Genealogy assisting researchers in tracing family medical problems that are passed on from generation to generation. • Information included in birth, marriage, and death records is critical to reconstructing families and tracing genetically inherited attributes in current family members. • Access to vital records—historical as well as current— is essential in making certain that one is researching the correct person.

38. European Union Member 28 Countries

39. European Union Update • European Union Court Decision RE: Google on “Right to Be Forgotten” 80,000 removal requests in 1st month • European Union Proposed General Data Protection Regulation—affects genealogy historical and current records from EU countries as vital records considered personal information—applies to organizations based outside the European Union if they process personal data of EU residents. The "right to be forgotten” The “right to be erased”

40. Recent Legislative Initiatives in Poland • Polish Legislation to Change Access to Records—first law to regulate access previously by ministerial dictate. • Proposes 100 years closure of birth records; 80 years closure of marriage and death records • Gesher Galicia proposing 30 years death and 70-75 for marriage • Shorten time periods for USC to transfer records to Polish State Archives where records are open for public.

41. Fred Moss, JD, LL.M. • Legal Advisor for FGS • Former Associate Dean & Professor, Texas Wesleyan School of Law • Colonel (retired) Judge Advocate General Corps.

42. Proverb • Things are rarely done in Washington DC for the reason publicly stated.

43. The Hidden Agenda? • SSA wants out of the DMF business • Incrementally dismantling the DMF • Alternatives?

44. Is the SSDI/DMF issue . . . An Access issue? A Preservation issue? Both?

45. RPAC Posture • The Genealogical Community would rather be • Thought of as a Stakeholder & Resource, NOT • A mere constituency to be placated, • Or safely ignored.

46. Genealogists Vote To order pins Access @FGS.org

47. Genealogists’ Declaration of Rights Stop by the RPAC Booth # 604 and sign the Declaration!

48. FGS-IAJGS-NGS-Sponsored • The Declaration of Rights is a statement advocating open access to federal, state, and local public records. • The Declaration affirms America’s long history of open public records, which has been threatened the last few years over concerns about identity theft and privacy.

49. Genealogists’ Declaration of Rights • Will be used to show state and federal legislators and regulators that genealogists support open records and • Genealogists Vote!!

50. Signatures to Date: 3,500+ • Online 2,522 • NGS 537 • Jamboree 214 • IAJGS 203 How many will • CA/MA/OH sign at FGS? Societies 59 • Total 3,535