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From: "Sally Rolls Pavia" <>
Subject: [Genealogy Bits and Pieces] Attack on Public Records in Ohio
Date: Thu, 1 May 2003 18:02:59 -0700

Recently, the Ohio House of Representatives passed House Bill 95 (the state
budget bill). Included in sections 3705.23 and 3705.24 is language that
would:

-- eliminate uncertified copies of vital records -- add a $5 surcharge to
what is already charged for a certified copy (raising the total cost of a
single document to anywhere between $12 and $17, depending on the agency) --
creates a "certification of birth," which does not require the parents'
names to be listed

In addition, the certified copy is not required to be a photocopy of the
record.

Unlike other states where the threat to vital records access is based on
fears about identity theft and homeland security, the Ohio legislature is
doing this under the guise of "fiscal responsibility." Although nobody has
been able to get someone to speak on the record, my sources at the Ohio
Historical Society tell me that they have heard from the State Vital
Statistics officials, who say that they cannot afford to process uncertified
copies. (Because the way the open records law is written, agencies must
charge "at cost," which cannot include the cost of labor or any overhead,
such as maintenance and preservation of the record.)

Ohio has had a long tradition of open records. The Ohio Revised Code section
149.43 requires that "...all public records shall be promptly prepared and
made available for inspection to any person at all reasonable times during
regular business hours. Subject to division (B)(4) of this section, upon
request, a public office or person responsible for public records shall make
copies available at cost, within a reasonable period of time. In order to
facilitate broader access to public records, public offices shall maintain
public records in a manner that they can be made available for inspection in
accordance with this division."

House Bill 95 does not exclude vital records from what are defined as public
records. There are many other ways to keep uncertified photocopies available
to the public, including setting a statutory fee (perhaps at $1 per page) or
setting the fee at a percentage of the certified fee.

The full text of Ohio HB95 can be found at: (URL 'might' be 2-lines)
http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/BillText125/125_HB_95_PH_N.html


Sally Rolls Pavia
Sun City, AZ

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