MARRIAGE CEREMONIES INWAYNE COUNTY

Senate Bill 153

Sponsor:  Sen. Morris Hood

House Committee:  Local Government

Senate Committee:  Judiciary

Complete to 4-30-14

A SUMMARY OF SENATE BILL 153 AS PASSED BY THE SENATE 6-19-13

The bill would continue to allow an employee designated by the county clerk of Wayne County to solemnize marriages in that county; that is, to perform marriage ceremonies.  It would amend Chapter 83 of the Revised Statutes of 1846, which provides for the solemnization of marriages.

Now under the law, a county clerk in a county having more than 2 million inhabitants may designate an employee of the clerk's office to solemnize marriages.  That designated employee may solemnize a marriage only in the county in which the clerk serves.  This provision has applied only to Wayne County.

Senate Bill 153 would retain but modify this provision, so that a designated employee of a county clerk's office in a county having more than 1.5 million inhabitants could solemnize a marriage in the county in which the clerk served.  The provision would still apply only to Wayne County, whose population fell below the 2 million mark in the 2010 federal decennial census.  (Note: Wayne County's population in the 2010 census was 1,820,584.  As recently as 2000, it had been 2,061,162.  The next largest county, Oakland, had a population of just over 1.2 million in 2010.)

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Chapter 83 of the Revised Statutes of 1846 lists the officials who may solemnize a marriage in Michigan (that is, perform a wedding).  In addition to religious leaders, those officials who may act anywhere in the state include district court judges, district court magistrates, probate judges, and federal court judges; those officials who may marry couples anywhere in a county include city mayors within the county and county clerks.  Further, a county clerk can solemnize a marriage in any of Michigan's 83 counties with the written authorization of a particular county's clerk.

FISCAL IMPACT:

Because the bill would maintain the current situation with regard to whom may solemnize marriages, it would have no fiscal impact on the state or local units of government.

                                                                                           Legislative Analyst:   J. Hunault

                                                                                                   Fiscal Analyst:   Marilyn Peterson

■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.