News: Wisconsin Public Records Update (2007)
Contact:  Dolores Mohr Kenyon
Email: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org

----Sources: Thorp Courier, Front Pg., January 3, 2007.

State required to update old birth and death records

Madison - Born in Wisconsin from 1907 to 1947? Because of new federal anti-terrorism laws passed to prevent identity theft, the method by which Wisconsin records the most important events in our lives must change - and soon. By as early as May 2008, an estimated 4 million birth records and more than 3 million death records must be deciphered, entered into computers by workers who, for security’s sake, must labor in state buildings, and double-checked for accuracy. The first estimate put the cost of the massive update at $24.3 million, to pay for the security system; the Department of Transportation wants to raise the cost of renewing a license from $24 to $34.

From The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.