SOLEMNIZATION OF MARRIAGES S.B. 153:
FLOOR SUMMARY
Senate Bill 153 (as reported without amendment)
CONTENT
The bill would amend Chapter 83 of the Revised Statutes of 1846, which provides for the solemnization of marriages, to allow an employee designated by the county clerk of Wayne County to solemnize marriages in that county.
Chapter 83 of the Revised Statutes of 1846 lists the officials who may solemnize a marriage in Michigan. Among those officials are county clerks and, for a county having more than 2 million inhabitants, an employee of the clerk's office designated by the clerk. County clerks may solemnize a marriage in the county in which they serve, or in another county with the written authorization of the clerk of the other county. A designated employee of a county clerk in a county with more than 2 million people may solemnize a marriage only in the county in which the clerk serves. Under the bill, a designated employee of the 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.
(In the 2000 Federal Decennial Census, Wayne County's population was 2,061,162, but by the 2010 Census it had fallen to 1,820,584. The next-largest Michigan county, Oakland County, had a population of 1,210,145.)
MCL 551.7 Legislative Analyst: Patrick Affholter
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would have no fiscal impact on State or local government.
Date Completed: 2-26-13 Fiscal Analyst: David Zin
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.