Program Sponsored by the Records Preservation and Access Committee
On Wednesday, 4 May 2016, at the NGS 2016 Family History Conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, the Records Preservation and Access Committee (RPAC) is sponsoring session W 158, “How the Virginia Genealogical Society Made Virginia Vital Records More Accessible,” presented by Peter E. Broadbent, Jr.
Broadbent is a lawyer in Richmond, Virginia with the Christian & Barton firm who also serves as a lobbyist at the General Virginia Assembly. He is a former President of the Virginia Genealogical Society (VGS), a former Chairman of the Library of Virginia, and a former Governor of the Society of Colonial Wars in Virginia.
Improved Access to Virginia Vital Records
Virginia has gone from having a highly restrictive system of access to vital records, with no public index, to a model system that allows digital access to those original vital records which are now public, and an index to “closed” vital records with enough information to reasonably identify the principal individual or individuals in the record.
The “closed” period for death, marriage and divorce records has also been reduced from 50 years to 25 years.
This lecture will discuss the legislative efforts to accomplish these changes, including the formation of an email group list of the Virginia Genealogical Society
and local genealogical groups, lineage societies, and individuals interested in history, who served as a “grassroots” group to contact legislators to support vital records reform legislation. The lecture will also focus on the need to identify key legislators as patrons for legislation, and monitoring the legislative progress for a bill through subcommittees and committees.
We hope you will be attending the NGS 2016 Family History Conference and will join RPAC for this informative session at 4:00 pm in Room 305 of the Greater Ft. Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center.
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Jan Alpert
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