LEGISLATORS REACT TO PRIVACY AND BUDGETS
(Please be aware this post was written in 2003 and published at that time in the Houston Chronicle (Houston, Texas) newspaper. Some of the news in this post, therefore, may not be current. Current and future posts on this blog may revisit and update news on this and other posts on this blog. If you have questions and/or suggestions, please send Mic a note using the comment page -Don’t forget to use the orange “subscribe” button to receive new posts-Thanks, Mic)
This year’s legislative season is in full swing and legislators in several states are considering legislation contrary to the concerns of genealogists and historians.
The Records Preservation and Access Committee of the Federation of Genealogical Societies and National Genealogical Society has created a website at http://www.fgs.org/rpa/ to address these concerns. Readers are urged to bookmark and visit the website often. On the Current Issues link one will find the most up to date legislative information concerning Texas and other states.
Currently there are eight bills in the Texas Legislature seeking to close or restrict access to DD214 or military discharges of Texas veterans. There are six bills in the House (HB 18, 142, 165, 198, 199 and 545) and two in the Senate (SB 81 and 85). Only one bill, HB545 sponsored by Representative Wohlgemuth, allows for the record to be open after being a closed record for 50 years.
To read the full text of any of the aforementioned bills go to the Texas Legislature website at http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/ and conduct a Quick Bill Status search for the bill of interest.
TIF/TEXSHARE FUNDS THREATENED
In his recent budget proposal Texas Governor Perry allocated no funds for the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund. TIF helps schools and public libraries across Texas purchase computer hardware and other high tech accessories they otherwise would never be able to afford.
Perry, likewise, failed to allocate funds to continue TexShare databases. TexShare is a collection of commercial electronic databases made available to schools and to the public through libraries. Included in the TexShare databases are a number of databases of interest to genealogists and historians including Heritage Quest’s database of Federal censuses 1790-1930, the Sanborn Insurance Maps, several thousand online books with biographies, indexes, and state and county histories.
To learn more about the loss of these funds and it’s effects on schools and libraries visit the Texas Library Association website at http://whattifhasdone.org/ .
In other news Governor Bush of Florida has proposed the Florida State Library and Archives be disbanded and its collections and duties dispersed. In Indiana, Virginia and Massachusetts there is pending legislation aimed at closing or restricting access to state vital records. For more up to date news on these and other pending legislation visit the FGS/NGS RPA website mentioned earlier in this column at http://www.fgs.org/rpa/ .
WRITE AND PUBLISH A GENEALOGY BOOK
Mic Barnette will teach a class on How to Write and Publish a Genealogy Book. The course will be taught at Leisure Learning’s 2990 Richmond (near Kirby) campus Tuesday February 18 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The course will discuss all aspects of self-publishing, publishing through a formal publisher and publishing on the Internet. It will also address privacy issues, software, organizing, writing, numbering, documenting and laying out a quality publication. In addition the class will discuss the intricacies of pricing, prepublication, marketing, advertising, and a host of pertinent issues.
For more information and to register contact Leisure Learning at 713-529-4414.
SCHWEITZER IN SAN MARCOS
Dr. George K. Schweitzer will be the featured speaker at the 14th San Marcos/Hays County Genealogical Society Annual Genealogy Workshop. This year’s all day workshop will be held Saturday February 22 at the First Lutheran Church, 130 West Holland, in San Marcos.
Known nationally as a prolific author and for his informative and entertaining lectures Schweitzer will speak on the following topics: German Emigration, Immigration & Migration Patterns; Tracing Ancestors Back Across the Atlantic; Using the New Internet Method for Genealogical Research.
For more information and to register contact June Feuillerat at 512-312-1551, Ronda Reagan at 512-396-9001 or visit the society’s website at
