HB 324-FN – AS INTRODUCED

2005 SESSION

05-0089

05/10

HOUSE BILL 324-FN

AN ACT relative to requirements for legal marriages.

SPONSORS: Rep. Itse, Rock 9; Rep. Marple, Merr 9; Rep. Buhlman, Hills 27; Rep. Albert, Straf 1; Rep. Gibson, Hills 19

COMMITTEE: Judiciary

ANALYSIS

This bill provides that a man and woman whose marriage is solemnized by a minister of their religion shall be considered lawfully married. The bill is intended to create a distinction between a lawful marriage, which is solemnized by a minister without further state involvement, and a legal marriage, which has certain state procedural requirements and which may or may not be solemnized by a religious officiant.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

05-0089

05/10

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Five

AN ACT relative to requirements for legal marriages.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 New Section; Marriages; Lawful Marriage. Amend RSA 457 by inserting after section 37 the following new section:

457:37-a Lawful Marriage.

I. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a man and a woman who are joined in matrimony by a minister of their religion shall be recognized as lawfully married, provided that the couple is outside the degrees of relationship prohibited by RSA 457:1 and RSA 457:2.

II. In this section, a “lawful marriage” means a marriage that is solemnized by a minister of the religious body to which the couple belongs, without the completion of a marriage license or other civil contractual requirements, other than the requirement that the minister submit a copy of the record of the marriage to the division of vital records administration. A lawful marriage shall be distinct from a legal marriage as that term is used in this chapter.

III. A minister intending to solemnize a lawful marriage under this section shall notify the registrar of vital records of the intent prior to the marriage. Within 3 days of solemnizing the marriage, the minister shall notify the registrar of vital records and submit a record of the marriage to the division of vital records administration.

2 Completion of Marriage License Application. Amend RSA 457:22 to read as follows:

457:22 Completion of Marriage License Application. All persons proposing to be joined in legal marriage within the state shall complete a marriage license application with all facts required by RSA 5-C:7 to be entered in any town clerk's office. The clerk shall record the application in a book to be kept for that purpose.

3 Penalty for Solemnization Without Valid Certificate. Amend RSA 457:34 to read as follows:

457:34 Penalty for Solemnization Without Valid Certificate. If a minister or justice of the peace shall join any persons in legal marriage without having first received a certificate of the town clerk, or shall join any persons in marriage with a certificate which he or she knows to be invalid, he or she shall forfeit for each offense $60.

4 Certified Copy of the Record. Amend RSA 457:38 to read as follows:

457:38 Certified Copy of Record. A copy of the record of a marriage, certified by a city or town clerk [or by], the registrar of vital records, or the minister pursuant to RSA 457:37-a, shall be received in all courts and places as evidence of the fact of the marriage.

5 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2006.

LBAO

05-0089.1

12/14/04

HB 324-FN - FISCAL NOTE

AN ACT relative to requirements for legal marriages.

FISCAL IMPACT:

METHODOLOGY: