HB1487 (2006) Detail

Relative to marriage licenses.


CHAPTER 86

HB 1487 – FINAL VERSION

07Mar2006… 0788h

2006 SESSION

06-2383

05/09

HOUSE BILL 1487

AN ACT relative to marriage licenses.

SPONSORS: Rep. Scanlon, Hills 18; Rep. Graham, Hills 18; Rep. Hawkins, Hills 18

COMMITTEE: Municipal and County Government

AMENDED ANALYSIS

This bill removes the 3-day waiting requirement for a marriage license. The bill also requires gender neutral references to clergy on marriage license forms.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

07Mar2006… 0788h

06-2383

05/09

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Six

AN ACT relative to marriage licenses.

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

86:1 Marriage License. Amend RSA 457:26 to read as follows:

457:26 Marriage License. The town clerk shall deliver to the parties a marriage license embodying the facts required in RSA 457:22, specifying the time when the application was entered, which license shall be delivered to the minister or magistrate who is to officiate, before the marriage is solemnized. The license shall be valid for [a period of not less than 3 days and] not more than 90 days from the date of filing.

86:2 Who May Solemnize Marriage; Gender Neutral Reference Change. Amend RSA 457:31 and RSA 457:31-a to read as follows:

457:31 Who May Solemnize. Marriage may be solemnized by a justice of the peace as commissioned in the state; by any minister of the gospel in the state who has been ordained according to the usage of his or her denomination, resides in the state, and is in regular standing with the denomination; by any [clergyman] clergy who is not ordained but is engaged in the service of the religious body to which he or she belongs, resides in the state, after being licensed therefor by the secretary of state; within his or her parish, by any minister residing out of the state, but having a pastoral charge wholly or partly in this state; by judges of the United States appointed pursuant to Article III of the United States Constitution, by bankruptcy judges appointed pursuant to Article I of the United States Constitution, or by United States magistrate judges appointed pursuant to federal law.

457:31-a Secretary of State. The secretary of state may issue a license to an unordained [clergyman] clergy who is a resident of this state and who is a member of and engaged in the service of a religious body which is chartered by the state if he or she presents a certification from that body that he or she is in its service. Said license shall authorize [him] the clergy to solemnize marriage in this state. The fee for such license shall be $5.

86:3 Documentation of Marriages; Reference To Waiting Period Deleted. Amend RSA 457:28-b to read as follows:

457:28-b Destruction of Records. The clerk of the superior court and the register of probate may destroy [applications to shorten the waiting period required under RSA 457:27 and] petitions by parties under age under RSA 457:6 and related documents after 5 years from the time of filing.

86:4 Marriage License Forms; Updated with Gender Neutral References. As the current supply of forms for marriage licenses and applications is replaced, the town clerk shall revise the forms to include gender neutral references for ministers and others who may solemnize a marriage under RSA 457.

86:5 Repeal. RSA 457:27, relative to the shortening period, is repealed.

86:6 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

Approved: May 5, 2006

Effective: July 4, 2006