The house bill has been passed to allow access to death records prior to 1961 and birth records prior to 1906. This is wonderful, but we have yet to hear how, when or where they will be available. The records are to go to the Pennsylvania Archives, but what does this mean? Will they be on microfilm? On computer? Will Ancestry.com or FamilySearch.org make them available on their websites? How many birth records will be available since Pennsylvania only began officially recording them in 1906?
This is a lovely start, but we still have a long way to go to make me jump for joy. We will still have to wait 5 months to receive a death certificate.