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).