Good idea
BY World's Editorials Writers
Monday, February 18, 2013
2/18/13 at 8:30 AM
Rep. Mike Ritze, R-Broken Arrow, has authored some of the worst legislation ever introduced in the state House of Representatives (One bill would make a criminal of any federal official who tried to enforce the Affordable Health Care Act in Oklahoma).
But in House Bill 1491 it appears he might have come up with a measure that could really benefit many Oklahomans.
HB 1491, which cleared its first House committee hurdle last week, would direct the Oklahoma State Department of Health to create an online process for obtaining birth and death certificates.
"Birth and death certificates are records that are frequently requested and an online process reduces costs while at the same time increasing the convenience for the requesting parties," Ritze said.
Birth and death certificates are often required for transactions between citizens and governmental entities or even businesses.
For example, anyone who has dealt with settling the estate of a deceased parent - even an uncomplicated estate - knows the hassle and time involved in obtaining multiple copies of a death certificate that are necessary to receive insurance and close out various accounts. The ability to obtain them online, it seems, would make the process quicker and less stressful, even if it were not less costly.
The process of obtaining birth and death certificates online would have to be secure and accurate. But if those challenges could be met, Ritze's idea appears to be one worth pursuing.
