TO AMEND SECTION 20-1-220 OF THE 1976 CODE, RELATING TO WRITTEN MARRIAGE LICENSE APPLICATIONS, TO REMOVE THE TWENTY-FOUR HOUR APPLICATION REQUIREMENT BEFORE A MARRIAGE LICENSE MAY BE ISSUED.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION    1.    Section 20-1-220 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

    "Section 20-1-220.    (A)    No marriage license may be issued unless a written application has been filed with the probate judge, or in Darlington and Georgetown counties the clerk of court who issues the license, at least twenty-four hours before the issuance of the license.

    (B)    The application must be signed by both of the contracting parties and shall contain the same information as required for the issuing of the license including the social security numbers, or the alien identification numbers assigned to resident aliens who do not have social security numbers, of the contracting parties. The license issued, in addition to other things required, must show the hour and date of the filing of the application and the hour and date of the issuance of the license.

    (C)    The application must be kept by the probate judge or clerk of court as a permanent record in his office.

    (D)    A probate judge or clerk of court issuing a license contrary to the provisions, upon conviction, must be fined not more than one hundred dollars or not less than twenty-five dollars, or imprisoned for not more than thirty days or not less than ten days."

SECTION    2.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.