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A02901 Summary:

BILL NOA02901
 
SAME ASSAME AS S02234
 
SPONSORLevenberg
 
COSPNSR
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Amd §§11, 12, 13 & 13-b, add §11-d, Dom Rel L; rpld §110, Exec L (as proposed in S.739-A & A.6300-A)
 
Provides for the designation of lay individuals as one-day marriage officiants in order to solemnize marriages by a town or city clerk.
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A02901 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          2901
 
                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    February 1, 2023
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  LEVENBERG  --  read once and referred to the
          Committee on Judiciary
 
        AN ACT to amend the domestic relations law, in relation  to  designating
          lay   individuals  to  solemnize  marriages;  and  to  repeal  certain
          provisions of the executive law related thereto

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1. Subdivisions 1, 2, 3-a and 3-b of section 11 of the domes-
     2  tic relations law, subdivisions 1, 2 and 3-a as amended and  subdivision
     3  3-b  as  added  by  a  chapter of the laws of 2022 amending the domestic
     4  relations law and the executive law relating to designating lay individ-
     5  uals to solemnize marriages, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S.
     6  739-A and A.  6300-A, are amended to read as follows:
     7    1. A clergyman or minister of any religion, or by the  senior  leader,
     8  or  any  of the other leaders, of The Society for Ethical Culture in the
     9  city of New York, having its principal office in the borough of  Manhat-
    10  tan,  or  by  the  leader  of  The Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture,
    11  having its principal office in the borough of Brooklyn of  the  city  of
    12  New  York,  or  of the Westchester Ethical Society, having its principal
    13  office in Westchester county, or of the Ethical Culture Society of  Long
    14  Island,  having  its principal office in Nassau county, or of the River-
    15  dale-Yonkers Ethical Society having its principal office in Bronx  coun-
    16  ty,  or  by  the  leader of any other Ethical Culture Society affiliated
    17  with the American Ethical Union; provided that no clergyman or  minister
    18  as  defined in section two of the religious corporations law, or Society
    19  for Ethical Culture leader shall be required to solemnize  any  marriage
    20  when acting in his or her capacity under this subdivision.
    21    1-a. A refusal by a clergyman or minister as defined in section two of
    22  the religious corporations law, or Society for Ethical Culture leader to
    23  solemnize  any  marriage under this subdivision shall not create a civil
    24  claim or cause of action or result in  any  state  or  local  government
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03960-01-3

        A. 2901                             2
 
     1  action to penalize, withhold benefits or discriminate against such cler-
     2  gyman or minister[; or,].
     3    2.  The  current  or a former governor, a mayor of a village, a county
     4  executive of a county, or a mayor,  recorder,  city  magistrate,  police
     5  justice or police magistrate of a city, a former mayor or the city clerk
     6  of  a  city of the first class of over one million inhabitants or any of
     7  his or her deputies or not more than four regular clerks, designated  by
     8  him  or  her  for  such  purpose as provided in section eleven-a of this
     9  article, except that in cities which contain more than one hundred thou-
    10  sand and less than one million inhabitants, a marriage shall  be  solem-
    11  nized  by  the mayor, or police justice, and by no other officer of such
    12  city, except as provided in subdivisions one and three of this section[;
    13  or,].
    14    3-a. A judge or peacemaker judge of any Indian tribal court, a  chief,
    15  a  headman,  or any member of any tribal council or other governing body
    16  of any nation, tribe or band of Indians in this state duly designated by
    17  such body for the purpose of officiating  at  marriages,  or  any  other
    18  persons  duly  designated  by such body, in keeping with the culture and
    19  traditions of any such nation, tribe or band of Indians in  this  state,
    20  to officiate at marriages[; or,].
    21    3-b.  A one-day marriage officiant, as designated by [the secretary of
    22  state pursuant to section one hundred ten of the executive law]  a  town
    23  or city clerk pursuant to section eleven-d of this article; or,
    24    § 2. Section 12 of the domestic relations law, as amended by a chapter
    25  of  the  laws of 2022 amending the domestic relations law and the execu-
    26  tive law relating to designating lay individuals to solemnize marriages,
    27  as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 739-A and  A.    6300-A,  is
    28  amended to read as follows:
    29    §  12.    Marriage, how solemnized.  No particular form or ceremony is
    30  required when a marriage is solemnized as herein provided by  a  clergy-
    31  man[,]  or  magistrate,  or  one-day marriage officiant as designated by
    32  [the secretary of state pursuant to section one hundred ten of the exec-
    33  utive law] a town or city clerk pursuant to  section  eleven-d  of  this
    34  article,  but  the  parties  must  solemnly declare in the presence of a
    35  clergyman, magistrate,  or  such  one-day  marriage  officiant  and  the
    36  attending  witness or witnesses that they take each other as spouses. In
    37  every case, at least one witness beside the  clergyman,  magistrate,  or
    38  such one-day marriage officiant must be present at the ceremony.
    39    The preceding provisions of this chapter, so far as they relate to the
    40  manner  of  solemnizing  marriages, shall not affect marriages among the
    41  people called friends or quakers; nor marriages among the people of  any
    42  other  denominations  having  as such any particular mode of solemnizing
    43  marriages; but such marriages must be solemnized in the  manner  hereto-
    44  fore  used and practiced in their respective societies or denominations,
    45  and marriages so solemnized shall be as valid as if this article had not
    46  been enacted.
    47    § 3. Section 13 of the domestic relations law, as amended by a chapter
    48  of the laws of 2022 amending the domestic relations law and  the  execu-
    49  tive law relating to designating lay individuals to solemnize marriages,
    50  as  proposed  in  legislative  bills numbers S. 739-A and A.  6300-A, is
    51  amended to read as follows:
    52    § 13. Marriage  licenses.  It  shall  be  necessary  for  all  persons
    53  intended  to  be  married in New York state to obtain a marriage license
    54  from a town or city clerk in New York state and to deliver said license,
    55  within sixty days, to the clergyman,  magistrate,  or  one-day  marriage
    56  officiant  as  designated by [the secretary of state pursuant to section

        A. 2901                             3

     1  one hundred ten of the executive law] a town or city clerk  pursuant  to
     2  section eleven-d of this article who is to officiate before the marriage
     3  ceremony  may be performed. In case of a marriage contracted pursuant to
     4  subdivision  four  of section eleven of this chapter, such license shall
     5  be delivered to the judge  of  the  court  of  record  before  whom  the
     6  acknowledgment  is  to be taken. If either party to the marriage resides
     7  upon an island located not less than twenty-five miles from  the  office
     8  or  residence  of  the  town clerk of the town of which such island is a
     9  part, and if such office or residence is not on such island such license
    10  may be obtained from any justice of the peace residing on  such  island,
    11  and  such  justice, in respect to powers and duties relating to marriage
    12  licenses, shall be subject to the provisions of this  article  governing
    13  town  clerks and shall file all statements or affidavits received by him
    14  while acting under the provisions of this section with the town clerk of
    15  such town. No application for a marriage license shall be denied on  the
    16  ground that the parties are of the same, or a different, sex.
    17    § 4. Section 13-b of the domestic relations law, as amended by a chap-
    18  ter  of  the  laws  of  2022 amending the domestic relations law and the
    19  executive law relating  to  designating  lay  individuals  to  solemnize
    20  marriages,  as  proposed  in  legislative  bills numbers S. 739-A and A.
    21  6300-A, is amended to read as follows:
    22    § 13-b. Time within which marriage may be solemnized. A marriage shall
    23  not be solemnized within twenty-four hours after  the  issuance  of  the
    24  marriage  license, unless authorized by an order of a court of record as
    25  hereinafter provided, nor shall it be solemnized after sixty  days  from
    26  the  date  of  the  issuance  of  the marriage license unless authorized
    27  pursuant to section three hundred fifty-four-d  of  the  executive  law.
    28  Every  license  to  marry  hereafter  issued by a town or city clerk, in
    29  addition to other requirements specified by this chapter, must contain a
    30  statement of the day and the hour the license is issued and  the  period
    31  during which the marriage may be solemnized. It shall be the duty of the
    32  clergyman,  magistrate,  or one-day marriage officiant, as designated by
    33  [the secretary  of state pursuant to section  one  hundred  ten  of  the
    34  executive law] a town or city clerk pursuant to section eleven-d of this
    35  article,  performing the marriage ceremony, or if the marriage is solem-
    36  nized by written contract, of the judge  before  whom  the  contract  is
    37  acknowledged,  to annex to or endorse upon the marriage license the date
    38  and hour the marriage is solemnized. A judge or justice of  the  supreme
    39  court  of  this  state or the county judge of the county in which either
    40  party to be married resides, or the judge of the family  court  of  such
    41  county,  if  it  shall appear from an examination of the license and any
    42  other proofs submitted by the parties that one  of  the  parties  is  in
    43  danger  of imminent death, or by reason of other emergency public inter-
    44  est will be promoted thereby, or that such delay will  work  irreparable
    45  injury  or  great hardship upon the contracting parties, or one of them,
    46  may, make an  order  authorizing  the  immediate  solemnization  of  the
    47  marriage  and  upon filing such order with the clergyman, magistrate, or
    48  one-day marriage officiant performing the marriage ceremony, or  if  the
    49  marriage  is to be solemnized by written contract, with the judge before
    50  whom the contract is acknowledged, such clergyman,  magistrate  or  such
    51  one-day  marriage  officiant  may solemnize such marriage, or such judge
    52  may take such acknowledgment as the case may  be,  without  waiting  for
    53  such three day period and twenty-four hour period to elapse. The clergy-
    54  man,  magistrate,  judge, or such  one-day marriage officiant, as desig-
    55  nated by [the secretary of state pursuant to section one hundred ten  of
    56  the  executive law] a town or city clerk pursuant to section eleven-d of

        A. 2901                             4
 
     1  this  article,  must  file  such  order  with the town or city clerk who
     2  issued the license within five days after the  marriage  is  solemnized.
     3  Such  town  or  city  clerk  must record and index the order in the book
     4  required  to be kept by him or her for recording affidavits, statements,
     5  consents and licenses, and when so recorded the  order  shall  become  a
     6  public  record  and  available  in any prosecution under this section. A
     7  person who shall solemnize a marriage in violation of this section shall
     8  be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished
     9  by a fine of fifty dollars for each offense, and  in  addition  thereto,
    10  his  or  her right to solemnize a marriage shall be suspended for ninety
    11  days.
    12    § 5. Section 110 of the executive law, as added by a  chapter  of  the
    13  laws  of  2022 amending the domestic relations law and the executive law
    14  relating to designating  lay  individuals  to  solemnize  marriages,  as
    15  proposed  in  legislative  bills  numbers  S.  739-A and A.   6300-A, is
    16  REPEALED.
    17    § 6. The domestic relations law is amended by  adding  a  new  section
    18  11-d to read as follows:
    19    §  11-d.  One-day  marriage officiant license. 1. A town or city clerk
    20  shall issue a one-day marriage  officiant  license  upon  request.  Such
    21  one-day  marriage  officiant  shall  have  the  authority to solemnize a
    22  marriage which marriage shall be valid if performed in  accordance  with
    23  other  provisions  of  law.  Nothing  herein contained shall nullify the
    24  authority of other persons authorized to solemnize marriages.
    25    2. Such one-day marriage officiant shall be eighteen years of  age  or
    26  over  and need not be a resident of the town or city to which they apply
    27  or a resident of the state. A one-day marriage officiant shall have  the
    28  authority to solemnize a marriage anywhere in the state.
    29    3.  An  applicant  for a one-day marriage officiant license must apply
    30  for such license in the same town or city clerk's office as  the  couple
    31  to  be  married.    Such  applicant  shall not be required to personally
    32  appear.
    33    4. A town or city clerk shall be entitled  to  a  fee  of  twenty-five
    34  dollars  for  issuing a one-day marriage officiant license. Such license
    35  shall be issued only after payment of  such  fee  and  submission  of  a
    36  completed application form.
    37    5. The application form shall require the following information of the
    38  applicant:    name,  date of birth, address, email address and telephone
    39  number. The application form shall also require the  following  informa-
    40  tion  of the parties to be married: names, dates of birth, and addresses
    41  as they appear on the application for a marriage license.
    42    6. Such license shall only be valid for the parties to be  married  as
    43  stated  on  the  application and shall expire upon the earlier of either
    44  completion of such solemnization  or  the  expiration  of  the  marriage
    45  license.
    46    7.  One-day  marriage  officiants shall be exempt from registration as
    47  required pursuant to section eleven-b of this article.
    48    § 7. This act shall take effect on the  same  date  and  in  the  same
    49  manner  as a chapter of the laws of 2022 amending the domestic relations
    50  law and the executive law relating to  designating  lay  individuals  to
    51  solemnize  marriages,  as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 739-A
    52  and A. 6300-A, takes effect.
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