SB 293

This bill makes various changes to requirements relating to marriage

documentation and marriage ceremonies.

Current law requires an applicant for a marriage license to exhibit a certified

copy of a birth record and to submit a copy of any judgment or death record affecting

the applicant's marital status. If a birth record, death record, or judgment is

unobtainable, current law allows the applicant to present other satisfactory

documentary proof of the requisite facts therein in lieu of the these documents.

Under the bill, the county clerk has discretion to determine whether a document is

unobtainable. With regard to birth records, the bill provides that if an applicant

presents certain documentation specified in the bill in lieu of the required birth

record, such as a passport or permanent resident card, the county clerk is required

to consider that documentation satisfactory documentary proof for purposes of a

license.

Under current law, if a county clerk is not satisfied with the documentation

presented, the clerk is required to submit the presented documentation to a judge in

the county of application for an opinion as to its sufficiency. The bill modifies this

procedure, requiring that if a county clerk is not satisfied with the documentation

presented, he or she must notify the applicant of the right to request review by a

judge and then, if the applicant requests such review, submit the documentation to

a judge as under current law.

The bill also eliminates current law residency requirements and allows parties,

resident or nonresident, to obtain a marriage license in any county of the state;

extends the period for which a marriage license is valid from 30 days to 60 days; and

reduces the waiting period for a marriage license from five days to three days. The

county clerk retains discretion as under current law to waive the minimum waiting

period and charge a fee of up to $25 to cover any additional processing cost incurred

by the county for expediting the license.

Under current law, for a marriage ceremony in which both parties are

nonresidents of the state, the ceremony is required to be performed in the county in

which the marriage license is issued. The bill eliminates that requirement and

allows both residents and nonresidents to marry in a ceremony in any county in the

state. The bill also creates an exception to the requirement that two competent adult

witnesses other than the officiating person be present for the solemnization of

marriage to be valid. Under the bill, if one of the parties is in the active military

service of the United States, the presence of only one competent adult witness other

than the officiating person is required. Finally, the bill modifies the requirements

for return of the marriage document after a marriage ceremony. Under current law,

the marriage document must be returned to the register of deed of the county in

which the marriage was performed. Under the bill, the marriage document may be

returned to the register of deeds in any county in the state.