People for Better Pennsylvania Historical Records Access (PaHR-Access)
this
week's news
- August 29th, 2008 (Our Bills in Committee)
- August 26th, 2008 (Thought for the week)
- August 18th, 2008 (Getting endorsements from Historical Societies revised)
- August 6th, 2008 (From the politician's viewpoint)
- July 18th, 2008 (Rep. Grucela vital records companion bill HB 2543 update)
- June 14th, 2008 (More of what the Pennsylvania Division of Vital Records is saying)
- June 4th, 2008 (What the Pennsylvania Division of Vital Records is saying)
- May 25th, 2008 (What the opponents of this cause are saying)
- April 25th, 2008 (Sen. Wonderling introduces vital records bill SB 1378)
- February 26th, 2008 (State Senator Robert D. Robbins introduces SB 1296)
Our bills in committee
Our bills (HB 2543 and SB 1378) are "stuck in committee". In an effort to get them out and voted on by the entire state legislature we could use your help in getting the heads of the two key committees in each house to have them voted on by those committees. Both houses will go back into session around September 15th so now is the time for us to start doing something.
Below are sample letters addressed to these two committee heads. Feel absolutely free to change or rewrite as you please, to use one of the sample letters from the main page of this website or write your own letter. But please do send a letter or email or something. Any letter is better than no letter and a letter not sent accomplishes nothing. Silence will not draw attention to our bills. Even if you have already sent a letter about this cause it doesn't hurt to send a second one. It only shows you consider this cause to be important. It also doesn't hurt to send a message to the other committee members. The link to find them are also below:
Letter to Representative Josephs
The members of the House State Government Committee can be found at: HSGC
The members of the Senate Public Health & Welfare Committee can be found at: SPHWC
thought for the week
There are millions and millions of people who are into genealogy but unless we speak up we are allowing those who don't care about genealogy decide what records we may or may not have access to.
Getting endorsements from historical societies
Having endorsements from historical societies and other similar organizations would carry a some weight with the Pennsylvania State Legislature and Governor Rendell. We could use you help in encouraging these particular organizations to move forward in endorsing this cause and to write letters to Governor Rendell and the state legislators of their area.
We ask you to send them a message for them to do so. If you belong to or would like to see other Pennsylvania historical and genealogy organizations not listed below and that have not endorsed this cause to do so please send them a message too. A simple one or two paragraph message would help. Please include where you live and if you are a member of that organization. For a list of organizations that already have endorsed this cause see the Progress Report.
Berks County Historical Society:
website: www.berkshistory.org email: society.library@verizon.net
Columbia County Historical and Genealogical Society:
website: www.colcohist-gensoc.org email: research@colcohist-gensoc.org
Delaware County Historical Society:
website: www.delawarecountyhistoricalsociety.org Ex. Dir. John Costello: jcdchs@comcast.net
Lehigh County Historical Society:
website: http://www.lchs.museum/ Curator Jill Youngken: j_youngken@lchs.museum
Luzerne County Historical Society
website: www.luzernecountyhistory.com email: lchs@epix.net
Historical Society of Montgomery County:
website: www.hsmcpa.org Librarian Rose Brown roseb@hsmcpa.org
Historical Society of Schuylkill County:
website: www.schuylkillhistory.org email: llward@voicenet.com
Historical and Genealogical Society of Somerset County:
website: www.somersethistoricalcenter.org Museum Director Charles Fox: chfox@state.pa.us
Westmoreland County Historical Society
website: www.starofthewest.org email: history@starofthewest.org
From the politician's viewpoint
Perhaps having a better understanding of the political process will explain why we ask for as many letters, emails, etc. as possible to be sent to Pennsylvania state legislators and Governor. Some people seem to have the impression that, once a legislator or a governor knows about a cause and learns what issues are involved, they either are or are not interested in favoring the cause and will or will not do something. Also that somehow they should automatically know this is a worthy cause with widespread support. Otherwise, some believe, there isn't much point in anyone else also writing to them since they already know about it.
On a regular basis most of these politicians are constantly bombarded by colleagues, constituents and others who want help with this or that issue. There are well over 2,000 bills introduced each year in the Pennsylvania Legislature (known as the General Assembly). This is undoubtedly only a small percentage of ideas that are actually written into a bill. Imagine how many thousands and thousands of ideas and suggestions are made each year to the legislators and the Governor that never make it into a bill or are otherwise never acted on.
With so many bills, ideas, issues and interests vying for attention the only way for our cause, any cause, to be seen as important is to make sure it is heard as loudly and often as possible. This is best accomplished by a grassroots effort of having as many people as possible join the chorus. Doing little or nothing is the best way to end up with nothing accomplished when all is said and done. This will not happen on its own and we cannot expect someone else will do it for us.
Please let the politicians in Harrisburg know you support this cause. The more they hear from people the more each and every one of them will realize just how much popular support this cause has especially if they are sent messages personally. Otherwise they have no way of knowing it does and can only assume it doesn't. The most effective way is by telling each one of them directly since they don't usually know what messages or how many messages their colleagues also received. Generally they can only go by what they have been sent personally.
The bottom line is if you don't consider this cause important enough to do something why should they?
Rep. Grucela vital records companion bill HB 2543 update
The introduction of bills related to our cause does not at all mean it will become law and our task is done. Far from it. Without continually putting pressure on and showing support a bill can easily go nowhere. If you haven't written a letter, sent a message, or visited a legislator please do so. Every endorsement from historical or genealogy organizations will carry a fair amount of weight. Each of these efforts has an accumulative effect and helps to push a bill through the legislative process and to ensure the Governor will sign the bill once it passes both houses. Unless you let the Pennsylvania Legislators and Governor Rendell know of your support for this cause they can only assume you don't care.
On May 14, 2008 State Representative Richard Grucella introduced in the House a companion bill HB 2543 to Senator Rob Wonderling's comprehensive vital records bill SB 1378. Click here to see this bill.
Here is the updated list of the 57 Pennsylvania state representatives who are cosponsors: William Adolph, Bob Bastian, John Bear, Robert Belfanti, Kerry A. Benninghoff, Lisa Bennington, Karen Beyer, Thomas Blackwell, Karen Boback, Joseph Brennan, Thomas Caltagirone, Steven Cappelli, Mike Carroll, James Cox, Tom Creighton, Lawrence Curry, Bryan Cutler, Craig Dally, Dan Frankel, Robert Freeman, Richard Geist, Camille George, Jaret Gibbons, Richard Grucella, Gary Haluska, Ted Harhai Julie Harhart, Art Hershey, John Hornaman, Thaddeus Kirkland, Nick Kotik, Tim Mahoney, Jennifer Mann, Keith McCall, Tony Melio, Ron Miller, Duane Milne, John Payne, Merle Phillips, Thomas J. Quigley, Harry Readshaw, Douglas G. Reichley, Carole Rubley, Dante Santoni, Steve Samuelson, Stan Saylor, John J. Siptroth, Matthew Smith, Curtis G. Sonney, Jerry Stern, Randy Vulakovich, Chelsa Wagner, Katharine Watson, Jesse White, Edward Wojnaroski, Rosita Youngblood, John Yudichak. In case you are wondering there are a total of 203 Pennsylvania state representatives.
If your representative is listed above please send them message thanking them for their support. If you do not see your representative listed please send a message to encourage them to support Representative Grucela's vital records bill (HB 2543). A simple email, note or phone call is all you need to make.
To find contact information for Pennsylvania's state representatives go to:
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/representatives_alpha.cfm
More of what the Pennsylvania division of vital records is saying
Another excuse given by the Pennsylvania Division of Vital Records for not allowing any of the state death certificates to ever be made open records let alone available on the internet is the concern about the Social Security numbers written on death certificates (mostly with death certificates starting we believe in the 1970's).
Scanned images of the death certificates for the states of Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Texas, Utah and West Virginia are available online. In 40 states the state death certificates eventually become open records ranging anywhere from immediately to no later than 75 years after the death. These include death certificates with Social Security numbers on them.
The California Death Index 1940-1997, which is more like an extraction of California deaths than just an index, includes the Social Security numbers of the people in this index and you can even look the person up by their Social Security number. Since it is a database of extracted information and not of the death certificates themselves it would have been very easy to have left the Social Security numbers out of this database. If California and these other states aren't having the kind of problems PA Vital Records claims would happen because the Social Security numbers of deceased persons would be revealed why would it happen with Pennsylvania death certificates? And notice that with the California Death Index most of it covers deaths less than 50 years old and as little as 11 years ago.
The Social Security Death Master File (better known as the Social Security Death Index) contains the names, dates, places and Social Security numbers of deceased persons. Rather than contribute to identity theft and fraud this public database actually proactively thwarts identity theft and fraud by making it easy to verify deaths. We understand government agencies, banks, insurance and credit card companies use it all the time to verify deaths and to stop the misuse of a deceased person's Social Security number. The easier it is to verify a death the harder it becomes for anyone to steal or misuse the identity of deceased person.
By the way Jimmy Durante’s Social Security number was 112-10-9800; Karen Carpenter's was 564-82-9174; Rock Hudson's was 354-14-0316. This information was found in the California Death Index. The Social Security number for the late Mayor of Philadelphia Frank Rizzo was 182-18-8165; Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers) was 207-24-5400; Governor Bob Casey was 161-26-3777; George Burns’ was 568-03-7361; Frank Sinatra’s was 138-16-0442; and Johnny Carson's was 508-14-8695. And in case you are wondering Elvis Presley's Social Security number was 409-52-2002. These numbers were found in the Social Security Death Index. Every person listed here died less than 50 years ago.
Still more on Vital Records objections to come.
what the Pennsylvania division of vital records is saying
Through several sources we have learned much about Pennsylvania Division of Vital Records' opposition and objections to this cause. Their basic position is one of not wanting to make any changes to the current system in any way, shape or form. None whatsoever. Some of the excuses they have come up with are literally laughable and some even insulting.
For starters Vital Records has suggested that researchers should not rely on death certificates for genealogy information and that somehow the same information can find in census records. They have made this uninformed suggestion despite the fact nearly all the information that is on a death certificate cannot be found in census records such as the dates of birth and death, parents' names, burial place, etc. Sometimes the only place this information can be found is on the death certificate.
Another excuse is what we call the Elvis Factor. Yes, we're talking about Elvis Presley. According to Vital Records the tabloids want to get a copy of his death certificate and so it has to be kept under lock and key to prevent this. Vital Records claims the same sort of thing could happen with Pennsylvania's public figures even after a lapse of 50 years. As part of this claim they say the news media and others would want to get the death certificates of the late Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo, Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers), Pennsylvania Governor Bob Casey, U.S. Senator John Heinz and the passengers and crew of Flight 93 and that this would interfere in the privacy of the families.
Will anyone really care all that much in the year 2041 what Frank Rizzo or John Heinz had died of? Bob Casey in 2050? Fred Rogers in 2053? Does anyone really care all that much now? Without a doubt California has more celebrities than any other state. The news media jumps all over every little thing that happens there. Why isn't California having these kinds of problems where there is no waiting period (let alone a 50 year waiting period) for a death certificate to become an open record?
Now back to Elvis. In the State of Tennessee only certified death certificates less than 50 years old are restricted to family members and the cause of death is redacted for any non-certified copy issued. After 50 years ALL Tennessee state death certificates are open to the general public without restriction including information about the cause of death. So in the year 2027 Elvis Presley's death certificate will be open to the general public without restriction including what the cause of death was. Shelby County, where Memphis lies, already has its deaths certificates more than 50 years old available online. In fact Shelby County also has an index for deaths less than 50 years old. Yes, you can indeed find Elvis A. Presley who died August 16, 1977 at age 42 and divorced listed in this index. By the way his death certificate number is 33157 (the website for Shelby County deaths can be found under Deaths Certificate Databases In Other States section of our website).
To begin with it is a bit ridiculous to take one colossal exception, such as with Elvis, and say this is why ALL death certificates should be restricted indefinitely. It is especially ironic for PA Vital Records to try to claim our proposal should never be implemented because of the Elvis Factor when the very county he died in already has their death certificates more than 50 years old online and an index of deaths just like we are saying the State of Pennsylvania should have.
More on Vital Records objections to come.
what the opponents of this cause are saying
Fortunately the opposition and the number of opponents to this cause is rather small. The biggest problem in reaching our goal is indifference since most people do not care one way or another about this. The three biggest objections to this cause are concerns about privacy, costs and identity theft. These questions are addressed under the Frequently Asked Questions section of this website. While there are valid reasons to be concerned about privacy a few people are so fanatical about privacy they claim these records should never, ever be made public even after 100 years or even several hundred years.
Some of the comments we have heard go far beyond a lack of being informed about how our proposal would actually reduce the chances of identity theft of deceased persons and how the costs can be dealt with. One reason given was why should the Pennsylvania taxpayer pay for something that will not be used by all Pennsylvania taxpayers. Another excuse in a similar vein was why should the Pennsylvania taxpayer pay for something people in other states would be able to use. Imagine how many existing programs would have to be eliminated if everything in Pennsylvania State Government had to meet these two requirements. The first thing that would have to go would be tax monies for historical societies and museums since only a small portion of Pennsylvanians patronize them and out of state residents visit them as well.
senator wonderling introduces vital records bill sb 1378
The introduction of bills related to our cause does not at all mean it will become law and our task is done. Far from it. Without continually putting pressure on and showing support a bill can easily go nowhere. If you haven't written a letter, sent a message, or visited a legislator please do so. Every endorsement from historical or genealogy organizations will carry a fair amount of weight. Each of these efforts has an accumulative effect and helps to push a bill through the legislative process and to ensure the Governor will sign the bill once it passes both houses. Unless you let the Pennsylvania Legislators and Governor Rendell know of your support for this cause they can only assume you don't care.
State Senator Rob Wonderling has introduced on our behalf the comprehensive vital records bill SB 1378. This bill calls for computerizing Pennsylvania state vital records; birth certificates over 100 years old and death certificates over 50 years old to become open records and to have them online; and establishing an online index (and only an index with minimal information) of death records over 2 years old. It is designed to modernize the Division of Vital Records, proactively help stop the identity theft of deceased persons and allow for vastly greater use of the oldest state birth and the older state death records by the public. Click here to see this bill.
The following 27 state senators are cosponsors: Gibson Armstrong, Lisa Baker, Lisa Boscola, Pat Browne, Michael Brubaker, Andrew E. Dinniman, Jane Earll, Edwin Erickson, Mike Folmer, John Gordner, Shirley Kitchen, Richard A Kasunic, Roger A. Madigan, Jane Clare Orie, John Pippy, James Rhoades, Robert Robbins, Joseph B. Scarnati, Patricia H. Vance, Leanna Washington, Michael Waugh, Donald C. White, Mary Jo White, Anthony Williams, Constance H. Williams, Rob Wonderling and John N. Wozniak. In case you are wondering there are a total of 50 Pennsylvania state senators.
If any of these Pennsylvania state senators is your senator please thank them for their support. If you do not see your state senator listed please send them a message to encourage them to support Senator Wonderling's vital records bill SB 1378. A simple email, note or phone call is all you need to make.
To find contact information for Pennsylvania's state senators go to:
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/senators_alpha.cfm
State Senator Robert D. Robbins introduces Senate Bill 1296
The introduction of bills related to our cause does not at all mean it will become law and our task is done. Far from it. Without continually putting pressure on and showing support a bill can easily go nowhere. If you haven't written a letter, sent a message, or visited a legislator please do so. Each of these efforts has an accumulative effect and helps to push a bill through the legislative process and to ensure the Governor will sign the bill once it passes both houses. Unless you let the Pennsylvania Legislators and Governor Rendell know of your support for this cause they can only assume you don't care.
Senator Robbins' bill calls for birth records more than 75 years old and death records more than 50 years old to become open records and available to the public at large. Use this link to see the actual wording of the bill: Click here to see this bill.
Use Back to return main page
Tim Gruber
We would enjoy hearing from you