Bill Text: MI HB4733 | 2015-2016 | 98th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Family law; marriage and divorce; government facilitated marriage licenses; eliminate, restore common law marriage, and only allow clergy to solemnize marriages. Amends title & secs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 & 8 of 1887 PA 128 (MCL 551.101 et seq.); adds sec. 1a & repeals secs. 3a & 5 of 1887 PA 128 (MCL 551.103a & 551.105). TIE BAR WITH: HB 4731'15, HB 4732'15

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-06-18 - Printed Bill Filed 06/18/2015 [HB4733 Detail]

Download: Michigan-2015-HB4733-Introduced.html

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HOUSE BILL No. 4733

June 17, 2015, Introduced by Reps. Courser and Gamrat and referred to the Committee on Government Operations.

 

     A bill to amend 1887 PA 128, entitled

 

"An act establishing the minimum ages for contracting marriages; to

require a civil license in order to marry and its registration; to

provide for the implementation of federal law; and to provide a

penalty for the violation of this act,"

 

by amending the title and sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8 (MCL

 

551.101, 551.102, 551.103, 551.104, 551.106, and 551.108), the

 

title as amended by 1998 PA 333 and sections 2 and 3 as amended by

 

2006 PA 578, and by adding section 1a; and to repeal acts and parts

 

of acts.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

TITLE

 

     An act establishing the minimum ages for contracting

 

marriages; to require a civil license marriage certificate signed

 

by clergy in order to marry and its registration; to provide for

 

the implementation of federal law; and to provide a penalty for the

 

violation of this act.

     Sec. 1. (1) It shall be As used in this act, "clergy" means a

 

minister of the gospel, cleric, or religious practitioner.

 

     (2) Before 90 days after the effective date of the amendatory

 

act that added section 1a, it is necessary for all parties

 

intending to be married to obtain a marriage license from the

 

county clerk of the county in which either the man or woman

 

resides, and to deliver the said license to the clergyman clergy or

 

magistrate who is to officiate, before the marriage can be

 

performed. If both parties to be married are non-residents

 

nonresidents of the state, it shall be is necessary to obtain such

 

a license from the county clerk of the county in which the marriage

 

is to be performed. Beginning 90 days after the effective date of

 

the amendatory act that added section 1a, and except as provided in

 

section 1a, all parties intending to be married must obtain a

 

marriage certificate signed by their clergy in order to be married.

 

The clergy shall present the signed marriage certificate to the

 

county clerk after the marriage is solemnized. A marriage

 

certificate obtained according to this section shall contain all of

 

the following:

 

     (a) The place of residence of each party.

 

     (b) The full legal name and age of each party as they appear

 

on or are calculable from a certified copy of the birth

 

certificate, the current driver license or state personal

 

identification card, the current passport or visa, or any other

 

certificate, license, or document issued by or existing according

 

to the laws of any nation or of any state, or a political

 

subdivision of any state, that is accepted as proof of identity and

 

age.

 

     (c) The full name by which each party will be known after the

 

marriage, that shall become the full legal name of the party upon

 

filing of the marriage certificate.

 

     (d) That the parties are not disqualified from or incapable of

 

entering into marriage.

 

     (e) The clergy's name and official or clerical designation.

 

     (f) The name of the clergy's congregation or body.

 

     (g) The town or city and county where the congregation, body,

 

or church is located.

 

     (h) The clergy's signature along with his or her official or

 

clerical designation.

 

     Sec. 1a. Beginning 90 days after the effective date of the

 

amendatory act that added this section, a marriage that is not

 

contracted by a formal ceremony according to section 1(2) may be

 

acknowledged by filing an affidavit of common law marriage with the

 

county clerk. The affidavit of common law marriage shall be signed

 

by both parties, notarized, and must include all of the following:

 

     (a) The place where each party resides.

 

     (b) The full legal name and age of each party as they appear

 

on or are calculable from a certified copy of the birth

 

certificate, the current driver license or state personal

 

identification card, the current passport or visa, or any other

 

certificate, license, or document issued by or existing under the

 

laws of any nation or of any state, or a political subdivision of

 

any state, that is accepted as proof of identity and age.

 

     (c) The full name by which each party will be known after the

 

marriage, which shall become the full legal name of the party upon

 

filing of the marriage certificate.

 

     (d) That the parties are not disqualified from or incapable of

 

entering into marriage.

 

     Sec. 2. (1) Blank Before 90 days after the effective date of

 

the amendatory act that added section 1a, blank forms for a

 

marriage license and certificate shall be prepared and furnished by

 

the state registrar appointed by the director of the department of

 

community health to each county clerk of this state in the quantity

 

needed. The blank form for a license and certificate shall be made

 

in duplicate and shall provide spaces for the entry of identifying

 

information of the parties and other items prescribed in rules

 

promulgated by the director of the department of community health

 

and human services. The state registrar shall furnish to each

 

county clerk of this state blank application forms of an affidavit

 

containing the requisite allegations, under the laws of this state,

 

of the competency of the parties to unite in the bonds of

 

matrimony, and as required to comply with federal law, containing a

 

space requiring each applicant's social security number. A party

 

applying for a license to marry shall make and file the application

 

in the form of an affidavit with the county clerk as a basis for

 

issuing the license. The county clerk may permit a party applying

 

for a marriage license to submit that application electronically.

 

If the county clerk accepts an electronically submitted

 

application, the clerk shall print the required information from

 

the application in the form of an affidavit and have a party named

 

in the application sign the affidavit in the presence of the county

 

clerk or a deputy clerk. The license shall be made a matter of

 

record and shall be transmitted to the department of community

 

health and human services in the manner prescribed by the state

 

registrar. The state registrar shall not require an applicant's

 

social security number to be displayed on the marriage license.

 

Beginning 90 days after the effective date of the amendatory act

 

that added section 1a, the provisions of this section apply except

 

that a license is not required to be married. Persons wishing to be

 

married must obtain a marriage certificate signed by clergy as

 

provided in section 1.

 

     (2) A person shall not disclose, in a manner not authorized by

 

law or rule, a social security number collected as required by this

 

section. A violation of this subsection is a misdemeanor punishable

 

by imprisonment for not more than 90 days or a fine of not more

 

than $500.00, or both. A second or subsequent violation of this

 

subsection is a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than

 

4 years or a fine of not more than $2,000.00, or both.

 

     (3) A requirement under this section to include a social

 

security number on an application does not apply to an applicant

 

who demonstrates he or she is exempt under law from obtaining a

 

social security number or to an applicant who for religious

 

convictions is exempt under law from disclosure of his or her

 

social security number under these circumstances. The county clerk

 

shall inform the applicant of this possible exemption.

 

     (4) The application required to be completed under subsection

 

(1) is a nonpublic record and is exempt from disclosure under the

 

freedom of information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 to 15.246. The

 

application shall be made available, upon request, to the persons

 

named in the application.

 

     Sec. 3. (1) A person who is 18 years of age or older may

 

contract marriage. A person who is 16 years of age but is less than

 

18 years of age may contract marriage with the written consent of 1

 

of the parents of the person or the person's legal guardian, as

 

provided in this section. As proof of age, the person who intends

 

to be married, in addition to the statement of age in the

 

application, when requested by the county clerk, shall submit a

 

birth certificate or other proof of age. The county clerk on the

 

application submitted shall fill out the blank spaces of the

 

license before 90 days after the effective date of the amendatory

 

act that added section 1a, or the certificate beginning 90 days

 

after the effective date of the amendatory act that added section

 

1a, according to the sworn answers of the applicant, taken before

 

the county clerk, or some person duly authorized by law to

 

administer oaths. If it appears from the affidavit that either the

 

applicant for a marriage license before 90 days after the effective

 

date of the amendatory act that added section 1a, or for a marriage

 

certificate beginning 90 days after the effective date of the

 

amendatory act that added section 1a, or the person whom he or she

 

intends to marry is less than 18 years of age, the county clerk

 

shall require that there first be produced the written consent of 1

 

of the parents of each of the persons who is less than 18 years of

 

age or of the person's legal guardian, unless the person does not

 

have a living parent or guardian. The consent shall be to the

 

marriage and to the issuing of the license before 90 days after the

 

effective date of the amendatory act that added section 1a, or the

 

certificate beginning 90 days after the effective date of the

 

amendatory act that added section 1a, for which the application is

 

submitted. The consent shall be given personally in the presence of

 

the county clerk or be acknowledged before a notary public or other

 

officer authorized to administer oaths. A Before 90 days after the

 

effective date of the amendatory act that added section 1a, a

 

license shall not be issued by the county clerk until the

 

requirements of this section are complied with. Beginning 90 days

 

after the effective date of the amendatory act that added section

 

1a, a marriage certificate shall not be issued by the clergy until

 

the requirements of this section are complied with. The written

 

consent shall be preserved on file in the office of the county

 

clerk. If Before 90 days after the effective date of the amendatory

 

act that added section 1a, if the parties are legally entitled to

 

be married, the county clerk shall sign the license and certify the

 

fact that it is properly issued, and the clerk shall make a correct

 

copy of the license in the books of registration. Beginning 90 days

 

after the effective date of the amendatory act that added section

 

1a, if the parties are legally entitled to be married, the clergy

 

shall sign the certificate and certify the fact that it is properly

 

issued and shall forward a copy to the county clerk who shall make

 

a correct copy of the certificate in the books of registration.

 

     (2) A Before 90 days after the effective date of the

 

amendatory act that added section 1a, a fee of $20.00 shall be paid

 

by the person applying for the license and shall be paid by the

 

county clerk into the general fund of the county. The county board

 

of commissioners shall allocate $15.00 of each fee collected to the

 

circuit court for family counseling services, which shall include

 

counseling for domestic violence and child abuse. If family

 

counseling services are not established in the county, the circuit

 

court may use the money allocated to contract with public or

 

private agencies providing similar services. Money allocated to the

 

circuit court pursuant to under this section that is not expended

 

shall be returned to the general fund of the county to be held in

 

escrow until circuit court family counseling services are

 

established pursuant to under the circuit court family counseling

 

services act, 1964 PA 155, MCL 551.331 to 551.344. A probate court

 

may order the county clerk to waive the marriage license fee in

 

cases in which the fee would result in undue hardship. If both

 

parties named in the application are nonresidents of the state, the

 

person applying for the license shall pay an additional fee of

 

$10.00, which the county clerk shall deposit into the general fund

 

of the county. The county clerk shall give the license filled out

 

and signed, together with the blank form of certificate, to the

 

person applying, for delivery to the individual who is to officiate

 

at the marriage. On the return of the license to the county clerk,

 

containing the signatures of the witnesses to the marriage, who

 

shall be 18 years of age or older, the individuals being married,

 

and the individual officiating at the marriage, with the

 

certificate of the individual officiating at the marriage that the

 

marriage has been performed, the county clerk shall record in the

 

book of registration in the proper place of entry the information

 

prescribed by the director of the department of community health

 

and human services. The licenses and certificates issued and

 

returned shall be forwarded to the state registrar appointed by the

 

director of the department of community health on the forms and in

 

the manner prescribed by the director of the department of health

 

and human services. Beginning 90 days after the effective date of

 

the amendatory act that added section 1a, the provisions of this

 

subsection apply except that a marriage license shall be replaced

 

by a marriage certificate signed by the clergy. Beginning 90 days

 

after the effective date of the amendatory act that added section

 

1a, the fees required under this subsection shall be paid in

 

addition to any fee charged by the clergy.

 

     (3) A Before 90 days after the effective date of the

 

amendatory act that added section 1a, a charter county that has a

 

population of over 2,000,000 1,500,000 may impose by ordinance a

 

marriage license fee or nonresident marriage license fee, or both,

 

different in amount than the fee prescribed by subsection (2). The

 

charter county shall allocate the fee for family counseling

 

services as prescribed by subsection (2). A charter county shall

 

not impose a fee that is greater than the cost of the service for

 

which the fee is charged.

 

     Sec. 4. (1) It shall be Before 90 days after the effective

 

date of the amendatory act that added section 1a, it is the duty of

 

the clergyman clergy or magistrate, officiating at a marriage, to

 

fill in the spaces of the certificate left blank for the entry of

 

the time and place of the marriage, the names and residences of 2

 

witnesses, and his or her own signature in certification that the

 

marriage has been performed by him or her and any and all

 

information required to be filled in in the spaces left blank in

 

the certificate shall be typewritten or legibly printed. He or she

 

shall separate the duplicate license and certificate , and deliver

 

the half part designated duplicate to 1 of the parties, so joined

 

in marriage, and within 10 days return the original to the county

 

clerk issuing the same. It shall be is the duty of such clergyman

 

the clergy or magistrate to keep an accurate record of all

 

marriages solemnized in a book used expressly for that purpose.

 

     (2) Beginning 90 days after the effective date of the

 

amendatory act that added section 1a, the clergy officiating at a

 

marriage shall fill in the spaces of the certificate left blank for

 

the entry of the time and place of the marriage, the names and

 

residences of 2 witnesses, and his or her own signature in

 

certification that the marriage has been performed by him or her

 

and any and all information required to be filled in the spaces

 

left blank in the certificate shall be typewritten or legibly

 

printed. He or she shall separate the duplicate certificate and

 

deliver the half part designated duplicate to 1 of the parties, so

 

joined in marriage, and within 10 days return the original to the

 

county clerk as provided in section 1. The clergy shall keep an

 

accurate record of all marriages solemnized in a book used

 

expressly for that purpose.

 

     Sec. 6. (1) Any clergyman Before 90 days after the effective

 

date of the amendatory act that added section 1a, any clergy or

 

magistrate who shall join joins together in marriage parties who

 

have not delivered to him or her a properly issued license, as

 

provided for in this act, or who shall violate violates any of the

 

provisions of this act , shall be adjudged is guilty of a

 

misdemeanor , and shall be punished punishable by a fine of 100

 

dollars, or in default of payment thereof, by not more than

 

$100.00, imprisonment in the county jail for a term of 90 days, or

 

both.

 

     (2) Beginning 90 days after the effective date of the

 

amendatory act that added section 1a, any clergy who joins together

 

in marriage parties who violate any of the provisions of this act

 

is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than

 

$100.00, imprisonment for 90 days, or both.

 

     Sec. 8. (1) Any Before 90 days after the effective date of the

 

amendatory act that added section 1a, any person applying for a

 

marriage license who shall swear swears to a false statement

 

therein, shall be in the application is guilty of perjury , and

 

shall be prosecuted therefor under the general laws of the state.

 

     (2) Beginning 90 days after the effective date of the

 

amendatory act that added section 1a, any person applying for a

 

marriage certificate who swears to a false statement in the

 

application is guilty of perjury and shall be prosecuted under the

 

general laws of the state.

 

     Enacting section 1. Sections 3a and 5 of 1887 PA 128, MCL

 

551.103a and 551.105, are repealed.

 

     Enacting section 2. This amendatory act does not take effect

 

unless and until the United States Supreme Court determines that

 

section 25 of article I of the state constitution of 1963 is

 

unconstitutional.

 

     Enacting section 3. This amendatory act does not take effect

 

unless all of the following bills of the 98th Legislature are

 

enacted into law:

 

     (a) Senate Bill No.____ or House Bill No. 4732 (request no.

 

02477'15 a).

 

     (b) Senate Bill No.____ or House Bill No. 4731 (request no.

 

02477'15 b).