Legislative ALERT - implementing a 75 year access ban on all vital records
within the State of Indiana.
The following is a letter I e-mailed out to the Indiana House of
Representatives Committee on Public Health. You can read the details of HB
1540 at
www.in.gov
You can find e-mail addresses for members of this committee and those of
your local Indiana rep at:
http://www.in.gov/cgi-bin/legislative/contact/contact.pl
Yesterday, the Indiana Genealogical Society made history by drafting it's
first Resolution in condemnation of this Bill.
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HB 1540:
The bill will be coming to the Public Health Committee on Wednesday February
5th.
I'd like to say that this Bill is an unnecessary move by the Indiana State
Registrar to impose restricted access to Public Records under the mistaken
impression there is a need by our government agencies to impose new laws to
protect the citizens of Indiana from Personal Identity Theft.
However, currently there are a number of laws in place that already
adequately address this important issue. Moreover, the sponsors have given
us the impression that Identity Theft via public records is a legitimate
concern. However, Federal Trade Commission released a study on February 22,
2001 that listed the causes of Identity Theft and outlined actions to
prevent it. This study indicated that current access to public records was
not a cause for concern and was not an issue in cases of Identity Theft.
As someone who works with children on history and family heritage, I find
that HB 1540 will unreasonably restrict the public to access their own
family vital records. Each year, thousands of people come to Indiana to
work on their family genealogy. As home to the largest public library
collection of genealogy in the world, the Allen County Public Library in
Fort Wayne is among the major tourist attractions in Northern Indiana.
While other government agencies are implementing aggressive programs to
digitize public records and install on-line access, HB-1540 could
effectively outlaw access to these records.
While the Bills sponsors have indicated that HB-1540 was patterned on the
Model State Vital Statistics Act of the US Department of Health and Human
Services, the truth is that Model in no way recommends "time limits" for
restricting access.
The fact is, Indiana has more than adequate laws on the books to manage the
State's vital records. The fact that some counties do not always follow
these rules in no way should justify adding redundant legislation.
I would like to ask that the Committee on Public Health please reject this
bill and ask the sponsors to meet with interested organizations around the
State, such as the Indiana Genealogical Society and the Indiana Historical
Society to review current laws and work on changing policies to help the
general public, not hurt them.
Thank you.
Mark Davis
Saint Joseph County List Moderator