This wasn’t my plan for a blog post but I think it’s vitally important for everyone interested in family history, whether you live in Indiana or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I’m copying the email I sent out to many folks who do live in Indiana yesterday. Even it you don’t – this will effect you as records are disappearing. Don’t believe me but believing your news source?! Think again. This is a bipartisan attack on all of us and we need to have our voices heard.:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This morning, I became aware of Indiana House Bill 1148.03, which just passed and is headed for the state Senate. I am emailing you because I know you have a deep love of history and genealogy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the bill has been widely framed as addressing gender changes on birth certificates, hidden within its provisions is a major change that threatens the work of genealogists, historians, and all who seek access to historical birth records. Buried on page 10 of the bill is a proposal to extend the restriction on birth certificate access from 75 years to 99 years. This unnecessary change would significantly hinder the ability of genealogists, historians, and researchers to access critical historical records, delaying access for an additional 24 years\u2014nearly an entire generation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This same legislative effort was attempted in January 2024 (HB 1365) but failed in committee. Now, it has returned\u2014this time hidden within a broader bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why This Change Must Be Stopped:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\u2705\"](\"https:\/\/fonts.gstatic.com\/s\/e\/notoemoji\/16.0\/2705\/32.png\")
A Reversal of Established Access \u2013 For decades, the 75-year threshold has balanced privacy concerns with the public\u2019s right to access historical records. Arbitrarily extending the wait to 99 years serves no clear purpose other than restricting access to our collective history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hindering Family Research \u2013 Birth records are vital for genealogical research, citizenship applications, and historical studies. This change would block access to information for countless individuals seeking to understand their heritage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Threat to Historical and Academic Research \u2013 Many historical projects rely on birth records to reconstruct community histories, track migration patterns, and verify personal identities. Extending the restriction to 99 years would severely impede research and publication efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No Justification for the Change \u2013 There has been no demonstrated need for this increase. Indiana\u2019s current 75-year access aligns with national norms, ensuring transparency while respecting privacy. This bill does not provide a clear reason why an additional 24-year delay is necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Take Action Now<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If HB 1148.03 is passed, Indiana will become one of the most restrictive states in the nation regarding historical birth records. We cannot allow this to happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I urge you to contact your legislators immediately and demand that they reject this extension to 99 years. Let them know that historians, genealogists, and the public deserve access to their past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Find your representative and senator here<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Or better yet, copy the list of email addresses and paste them into the “To” field of your email composition window. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you prefer, you can call the Indiana Senate at (800) 382-9467 or snail mail them at:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Indiana Senate<\/p>\n\n\n\n 200 W. Washington St.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Indianapolis, IN 46204-2786<\/p>\n\n\n\n Please make sure that your message is clear, concise, and respectful because that’s who we are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Together, we can ensure that our history remains accessible to future generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sincerely,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lori Samuelson, NBCT Emeritus & Genealogist<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is not just Indiana – Records are disappearing. Here are some other situations that need to be addressed immediately:<\/p>\n\n\n\n History SHOULD NOT be erased. We should have access to it and learn from it. Please take a moment to email ALL OF THE Indiana State Senators. Here is a letter you can copy and send:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Subject:<\/strong> Please Vote NO on HB 1148.03<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dear Senator,<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am writing to oppose the provision in HB 1148.03 that would delay public access to birth certificates from 75 years to 99 years<\/strong>. This change serves no clear purpose but blocks access to history for an entire generation<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Birth records are not just for genealogists\u2014they help people reconnect with their family roots, preserve Indiana\u2019s history, and even prove eligibility for heritage societies. The current 75-year rule has worked for decades\u2014why change it now?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Please vote NO on this provision<\/strong> and keep Indiana\u2019s history accessible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thank you for your time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sincerely, I also want you to know that Nextdoor refused to allow me to post the above letter. Said it wouldn’t allow “election” information. This has nothing to do with elections – it has to do with the government not working for the people but I guess Nextdoor’s view is that’s the folks we elected so you get what you voted for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One more thing – I had someone respond with this: “It is probably related to thousaads of deceased people age 104+ that have been fraudulently collecting Social Security. When you access the birth cert, do you have access to SSN? If not, I’m totally with you.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n THIS IS FAKE NEWS! Here was my response:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I appreciate your concern about Social Security fraud, and I want to clarify that this bill has nothing to do with protecting Social Security numbers\u2014those are already not included on publicly available birth certificates. In fact, no identifying personal financial data (like SSNs) are released when historical birth records become public. The current 75-year rule has worked effectively for decades, and there is no evidence that extending it to 99 years would prevent fraud. Instead, this change would only harm genealogists, historians, and everyday Hoosiers who rely on these records to trace family history, apply for heritage societies, and preserve Indiana\u2019s past. This same proposal was already rejected by lawmakers in 2024 (HB 1365), which tells us that there was no compelling reason for this change then\u2014and there isn\u2019t one now. If you\u2019re with me on this, I encourage you to contact your legislators and let them know that this unnecessary restriction should not become law. We need to protect public access to history, not block it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My husband and I took a few minutes yesterday to email each Indiana state senator. Please do so as soon as possible. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This wasn’t my plan for a blog post but I think it’s vitally important for everyone interested in family history, whether you live in Indiana or not. I’m copying the email I sent out to many folks who do live in Indiana yesterday. Even it you don’t – this will effect you as records are … Continue reading “Oppose HB 1148.03 \u2013 Preserve Access to Indiana\u2019s History”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[1265,1266],"class_list":["post-3283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archiving","tag-hb-1148-03","tag-preserve-history"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3283"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3283\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3284,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3283\/revisions\/3284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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