New York has taken an important step forward in ensuring that NYG&B members, researchers, and the wider genealogy and family history community have continued access to the State’s vital records.
The removal of “Part U—Digitize Genealogical Records Bill” from the final New York State (SFY) 2025-26 Executive Budget keeps access points open for those seeking to discover and better understand their family history and lifts procurement burdens from those seeking records. This is a resounding win for our community.
We are proud to have supported educational and advocacy efforts on this issue, and we thank all our NYG&B members and the wider family history community who took the time to speak out on this issue and make their voices heard, including by calling and writing their New York elected officials.
We also are grateful to the organizations and leaders in the genealogy and family history field who coordinated with us on responsive efforts and strategies for addressing this issue—leveraging each other’s strengths and areas of expertise.
Finally, we applaud those legislators and elected officials who listened to our collective concerns and took those into account, including Senator Krueger, Senator Pretlow, and Senator Rivera.
While we celebrate today’s victory, we also acknowledge that those who request vital records from the New York State Department of Health continue to face significant delays. This is of grave concern to the NYG&B. We will continue to seek ways to lift this barrier and stand ready to work with New York State and other partners on meaningfully solving this problem.
D. Joshua Taylor
President and CEO
New York Genealogical and Biographical Society