March 1, 2006, Introduced by Senator HAMMERSTROM and referred to the Committee on Local, Urban and State Affairs.
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 sections 2, 3, and 3a (MCL 551.102, 551.103, and
551.103a), section 2 as amended by 1998 PA 333, section 3 as
amended by 1984 PA 346, and section 3a as amended by 1989 PA 270.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 2. (1) 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 the each
county clerks
clerk of this state in quantities the quantity
needed.
The blank forms 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.
The state registrar shall furnish to
all the each county
clerks
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 county clerk may charge a $10.00 fee
for applications submitted electronically. The $10.00 shall be used
by the county clerk's office for technology upgrades and the
preservation and storage of documents filed with the county clerk's
office. The license shall be made a matter of record and shall be
transmitted to the department of community health 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.
(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) Every A
person who becomes
is 18 years of age
shall
be capable by law of contracting or
older may contract
marriage. Every
A person who
becomes is 16
years of age but is
less
than 18 years of age shall be capable of contracting 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 party to the intended marriage
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 made submitted
shall fill out the blank spaces
of the license according to the sworn answers of the applicant,
taken before the county clerk, or some person duly authorized by
law
to administer oaths. When If
it appears from the affidavit
that
either the applicant is applying for a license for the
marriage
to a person who has not become for
a marriage license or
the person whom he or she intends to marry is less than 18 years of
age, or
that the applicant has not become 18 years of age, or both
persons
applying for a license are 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 for which the
application
is made 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. unless
the person does not have a living parent or
guardian.
A license shall not be issued by the county clerk
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 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.
(2)
A fee of $20.00 $50.00
shall be paid by the party
person
applying for the license which
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.
Funds Money
allocated
to the circuit court pursuant to this section which are
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 Act No. 155 of the Public
Acts
of 1964, as amended, being sections 551.331 to 551.344 of the
Michigan Compiled Laws the circuit court family counseling
services act, 1964 PA 155, MCL 551.331 to 551.344. The county board
of commissioners shall allocate $30.00 of each fee collected to the
county clerk's office to be used for technology upgrades and the
preservation and storage of documents filed with the county clerk's
office. 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
shall be paid by the party
applying
for the license which shall be deposited by $20.00 which
the county clerk shall deposit into the general fund of the county.
The county board of commissioners shall allocate $10.00 of each
additional fee collected to the county clerk's office to be used
for technology upgrades and the preservation and storage of
documents filed with the county clerk's office. The county clerk
shall give the license filled out and signed, together with the
blank
form of certificate, to the party person
applying, for
delivery to the clergyman or magistrate 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 clergyman or magistrate, with the certificate of the
clergyman or magistrate 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
public
the department of community health. The licenses and
certificates issued and returned shall be forwarded to the state
registrar
appointed by the director of public the
department of
community health on the forms and in the manner prescribed by the
director.
(3)
A charter county which that
has a population of over
2,000,000 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 which
that is greater than the cost of the service for which the fee is
charged.
Sec.
3a. A license to marry marriage license shall not
be
delivered within a period of 3 days including the date of
application. However, the county clerk of each county, for good and
sufficient cause shown, may deliver the license immediately
following the application. If the county clerk delivers the license
immediately following the application, the person applying for the
license shall pay a fee to be determined by the county board of
commissioners, which the county clerk shall deposit into the
general fund of the county. A marriage license issued is void
unless a marriage is solemnized under the license within 33 days
after the application.