Sorry, due to budget cuts, we are only open to the public on the

third Wednesday of every other month.

You have to prove your kinship before you can obtain your great

grandfather’s records

Access

Denied!

Only the dead can get copies of their death records

So, what can we DO about this?

“NYC is a closed

jurisdiction and we are not public records.”

Right to be forgotten

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The Times They Are A-Changing!

T 21928 August 2014

San Antonio, Texas

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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

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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)

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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)

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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

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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

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

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

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Pick Up the RPAC Brochureat the RPAC Booth # 604

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How We Hear About Threats

• Members of RPAC committee• Participating organizations in RPAC• State Liaisons • Genealogy Blogs

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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

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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

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• Elizabeth Wells (AL)• Connie Bradbury (AK)• Linda McCleary (AZ)• Jan Davenport (AR)• David Coward (CO)• Robert Rafford (CT)• Donn Devine (DE)• Frank Laurent (FL)

• 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)

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State Liaison Roster

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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Jan Meisels Allen

Member, RPACChairperson, IAJGS Public Records Access

Monitoring CommitteePresident, Jewish Genealogical Society

of the Conejo Valley and Ventura County (JGSCV)

jan@iajgs.org

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Genealogists without recordscan’t do genealogy!

We are facing crises worldwideon access to vital recordsDue to misunderstanding

by those in power about Identity Theft and due to Budget Cuts

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• 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

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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

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2011 RevisionModel State Vital Statistics Act

• 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

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Remember to Watch For Regulations Too

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.

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Recent Vital Records Legislation

Recent Vital Records LegislationOklahoma—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.

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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.

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"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." 

New York City Department of Health and Access to Birth and Death Certificates

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How can you help?

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• 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

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Things to Do Now

• 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

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What You and Your Society Can Do

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)

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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.

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European Union Member 28 CountriesAustria Belgium Bulgaria

Croatia Cyprus CzechRepublic

Denmark Estonia Finland

France Germany Greece

Hungary Ireland Italy

Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg

Malta Netherlands Poland

Portugal Romania Slovakia

Slovenia Spain Sweden

United Kingdom

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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”

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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.

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Fred Moss, JD, LL.M.• Legal Advisor for FGS• Former Associate Dean & Professor, Texas

Wesleyan School of Law• Colonel (retired) Judge Advocate General Corps.

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Proverb

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

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The Hidden Agenda?

• SSA wants out of the DMF business

• Incrementally dismantling the DMF

• Alternatives?

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Is the SSDI/DMF issue . . .An Access issue?

A Preservation issue?Both?

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RPAC Posture• The Genealogical Community would rather be

• Thought of as a Stakeholder & Resource, NOT• A mere constituency to be placated, • Or safely ignored.

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Genealogists Vote

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To order pinsAccess @FGS.org

Genealogists’ Declaration of Rights

Stop by the RPAC Booth # 604 and sign the Declaration!

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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.

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Genealogists’ Declaration of Rights

• Will be used to show state and federal legislators and regulators that genealogists support open records and

• Genealogists Vote!!

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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

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Sign the Declaration

Sign under the state tab in which you are registered to vote

Encourage your friends and society members to sign

electronically onlinehttp://bit.ly/gen-declaration

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What is Needed NOW ?• We need you to deliver the message to your

elected representatives?• Do you know who they are? Do they know you?• Call on your state and federal legislators

• Office Visits during Congressional Recesses• August and holidays

• We also recommend joint calls between President of State Genealogical Society and APG Chapter President

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Deliver the Following Message• Fraud from identity theft of the deceased was

less than 2% of the total in 2011 and improving• The IRS can install more filters to flag

inconsistent/fraudulent tax returns • Genealogy websites had already closed access to

the SSDI for 2-10 years• Access to the DMF is needed to prevent tax

fraud, so as a result of the 2013 Bipartisan Budget Act, the amount of fraud will increase

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Amend Sec. 203 of the 2013 Bipartisan Budget Agreement• Redact the SSN from the Death Master File for

three years, and provide the non-sensitive information to data aggregators such as Ancestry and FamilySearch.

• Require the Social Security Administration to release all the available information including middle name or initial, year and state the SSN was issued, and last residence.

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RPAC Blog Posts• These slides are posted on the RPAC Blog at

http://www.fgs.org/RPAC• Talking points for your visits with your legislators• Sample letter to write your legislators• RPAC Brochure on Open Records• Statements sent to Congressional Committees

and the Department of Commerce about why genealogists need access to the SSDI

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Contact RPAC• Watch the RPAC Blog www.fgs.org/rpac for

updates• Contact RPAC at access@fgs.org• We can help!• We need to know early and stay informed

throughout the legislative process

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Questions?

http://www.fgs.org/rpac

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