SB 240-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2007 SESSION
09/04
SENATE BILL 240-FN
AN ACT establishing contractual cohabitation and extending certain rights to parties to a contractual cohabitation.
SPONSORS: Sen. Clegg, Dist 14; Rep. Marshall Quandt, Rock 13
This bill establishes contractual cohabitation and extends certain rights to parties to a contractual cohabitation.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
07-0340
09/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seven
AN ACT establishing contractual cohabitation and extending certain rights to parties to a contractual cohabitation.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Purpose and Findings.
I. The purpose of this act is:
(a) To ensure that all persons have the opportunity to seek and enjoy happiness while promoting the institution of marriage between one man and one women. Those privileges that flow from marriage, but which are not specifically granted in this act to persons entering into a contractual cohabitation are reserved for marriage for the purpose of promoting the social benefits of marriage.
(b) To provide eligible individuals the opportunity to obtain certain specified benefits, protections, and responsibilities.
(c) To provide any 2 people, without consideration of their gender, the privilege to enter into a legally binding contract that commits the parties to mutual responsibilities and obligations.
II. The legislature finds that marriage affords the best environment for procreation and raising healthy and well-adjusted children. The legislature has determined that the privileges reserved for marriage are necessary to the advancement of the promotion of the social benefits that derive from marriage.
2 New Chapter; Contractual Cohabitation. Amend RSA by inserting after chapter 457 the following new chapter:
CHAPTER 457-A
457-A:1 Definitions. In this chapter:
I. “Contractual cohabitation certificate” means a document that certifies that the 2 persons named on the certificate have established and registered a contract to cohabit in this state in compliance with this chapter.
II. “Contractual cohabitation application” means a form to be completed in accordance with this chapter and submitted to a town or city clerk or the state registrar in order to register a contractual cohabitation.
III. “Contractual cohabitation” means that 2 eligible persons have established a legally recognized relationship in conformance with this chapter, have registered a record of the agreement to enter into that relationship, and shall receive the benefits and protections, and agree to be subject to the responsibilities and obligations, set forth in this chapter.
IV. “Party to a contractual cohabitation” means a person who has established and registered a contractual cohabitation pursuant to this chapter.
457-A:2 Requisites for a Valid Contractual Cohabitation.
I. For a contractual cohabitation to be established in New Hampshire, neither party shall be a party to another contractual cohabitation or a marriage.
II. No person shall enter into a contractual cohabitation with his or her mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, daughter, son, granddaughter, or grandson. A contractual cohabitation between persons prohibited from entering a contractual cohabitation as provided in this section is void.
III. No person shall enter into a contractual cohabitation who is under 18 years of age.
IV. No person shall enter into a contractual cohabitation who is under guardianship.
457-A:3 Benefits, Protections, and Responsibilities and Obligations of Parties to a Contractual Cohabitation.
I. Parties to a contractual cohabitation shall have all the benefits, protections, obligations, and responsibilities under law as specified in this chapter. Parties to a contractual cohabitation shall be responsible for the support of one another to the same degree and in the same manner as prescribed under this chapter.
II. The following is an exclusive list of legal benefits, protections, obligations, and responsibilities which shall apply to parties to a contractual cohabitation:
(a) The rights and responsibilities of parties to a contractual cohabitation, with respect to a child of whom either becomes the natural parent during the term of the contractual cohabitation, shall be as prescribed under this chapter, with respect to a child of whom either party becomes the natural parent during the contract.
(b) A party to a contractual cohabitation, relative to the other party to the contractual cohabitation, shall have the same rights granted and is subject to the same limitations or restrictions imposed and established by:
(1) RSA 78-B:2, XIII, relative to an exemption from property transfer taxes.
(2) RSA 88-A:5, V, relative to taxation in the same manner provided for a survivor.
(3) RSA 126-A:36 and RSA 126-A:37, relative to the state recovering expenses incurred in providing services.
(4) RSA 137-J, relative to written directives for medical decisions.
(5) RSA 151:21 through RSA 151:31, relative to the patients’ bill of rights.
(6) RSA 151:2, II(b), relative to exemption from licensure requirements for facilities maintained or operated for the sole benefit of persons related to the owner or manager by marriage.
(7) RSA 161-B:2, II, relative to exclusion from the definition of child for the purposes of support of dependent children.
(8) RSA 161-C:2, II, relative to exclusion from the definition of dependent child.
(9) RSA 161-H:1, relative to exclusion from the definition of dependent child for purposes of the medical child support statute.
(10) RSA 161-I:2, VIII, relative to including spouse in the definition of a legally responsible person.
(11) RSA 162-A:4, prohibiting the director of the business finance authority from participating in any matter in which his or her spouse has a financial interest.
(12) RSA 165:19, relative to a duty to support.
(13) RSA 167, relative to eligibility for and responsibility for the expenses of public assistance.
(14) RSA 168-A, relative to the uniform act on paternity.
(15) RSA 168-B, relative to surrogacy.
(16) RSA 170-B, relative to adoption.
(17) RSA 170-E:2, XIII and RSA 170-E:25, XIV, relative to being recognized as being related to a child in statutes addressing day care, residential care, child placing agencies, and residential care and child-placing agencies.
(18) RSA 205-A:1, VI, relative to including spouse in the definition of a family member for purposes of regulating manufactured housing parks.
(19) RSA 259:66-a, relative to including spouse in the definition of next of kin for motor vehicle law purposes.
(20) RSA 261:17 and RSA 261:45-a, establishing that a vehicle is presumed to be jointly held with right of survivorship.
(21) RSA 261:95, relative to allowing for the return of vehicle registration plates and obtaining a proportional refund.
(22) RSA 263:56 and RSA 264:26, relative to the investigation of and license revocation hearings related to fatal motor vehicle accidents and the status of next of kin.
(23) RSA 287-F:8, relative to preventing the cohabiting party of a lotto member officer from buying tickets or receiving a lotto payout.
(24) RSA 290, relative to burial.
(25) RSA 291-A, relative to the uniform anatomical gift act.
(26) RSA 292:6-a, relative to requiring the board of directors of a non-profit organization to have at least 5 voting members who are not related by blood or marriage.
(27) RSA 382-A:9-102, relative to including a spouse in the definition of a “person related to” for the purposes of article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code.
(28) RSA 458-A, RSA 458-B, RSA 458-C, and RSA 458-D, relative to the uniform child custody act, income assignment, child support guidelines, and parental rights and responsibilities.
(29) RSA 460:2-a, relative to antenuptial agreements.
(30) RSA 464-A, relative to guardians and conservators.
(31) RSA 477, relative to the requirement of consent by both parties in certain conveyances of realty.
(32) RSA 480, relative to homestead rights.
(33) RSA 491:7 and RSA 491:14, relative to the jurisdiction of the superior court.
(34) RSA 506:2, applying the statute of frauds to agreements.
(35) RSA 529:20-a, relative to the levy of executions on real estate.
(36) RSA 546-A, relative to civil liability for support.
(37) RSA 546-B, relative to the uniform interstate family support act.
(38) RSA 551 through RSA 554, relative to wills, probate of wills, administrators and their appointment, and inventory, accounts, and dealing with assets.
(39) RSA 560, relative to the rights of a surviving spouse.
(40) RSA 611:14, RSA 611:16, and RSA 611-A:8, relative to the rights to the body and property of a deceased person.
(41) RSA 632-A:1, I-a, relative to the definition of “affinity.”
(42) RSA 639:4, relative to criminal penalties for failure to provide support.
(43) RSA 651:4-a, relative to the rights of the next of kin of the victim of a crime.
(44) RSA 651:62, III, relative to including the cost of reasonably needed products, services, and accommodations relative to a deceased victim of crime.
(45) RSA 651-A:11 and RSA 651-A:11-a, relative to a right of the next of kin to notice of a parole hearing and to appear and express his or her view when the victim of the crime has died.
457-A:4 Contractual Cohabitation Applications and Certificates; Filing.
I. The secretary of state shall provide contractual cohabitation license application and certificate forms to all town and county clerks. The secretary of state shall keep a record of all registered contractual cohabitations.
II. There shall be a contractual cohabitation application which shall be the form that is used to record that the contractual cohabitation agreement has been entered into and to record who witnessed the execution of the contractual cohabitation. The application shall be completed by the parties. The application shall be submitted to the clerk of the town or city where the agreement is entered into in accordance with the provisions of this chapter or to the state registrar. The contractual cohabitation certificate shall be the official copy of the contractual cohabitation certificate and it shall be issued when the contractual cohabitation is registered with the department of state, division of vital records.
III. The contractual cohabitation application shall include the following information and shall be in the form specified by the secretary of state. Blank contractual cohabitation applications shall be available from the secretary of state, the state registrar, and from town and city clerks. The contractual cohabitation application shall be completed by the parties to the agreement. The information supplied by each party shall include his or her full name; his or her usual residence by street and number, city, town or location, county, and state; his or her birthplace; his or her date of birth; his or her social security number; the date and the city or town where the contractual cohabitation is entered into; the name and address of the notary public/justice of the peace who takes the oath of the parties entering into the agreement; signature and the date signed, and certification that the information provided is correct to the best of his or her knowledge and belief and that he or she is free to enter into a contractual cohabitation under the laws of New Hampshire.
IV. Within 10 days of entering into the agreement and giving the oath or affirmation before a notary public/justice of the peace both parties to the contractual cohabitation shall report in person to the clerk of the town or city where the contractual cohabitation was entered into or to the office of the state registrar. The clerk of the town or city or the state registrar shall complete the following statistical and legal information on the contractual cohabitation application or in the electronic record of that application for each party with the information supplied by the party: if previously married or previously a party to a contractual cohabitation.
V. Once all of the information on the contractual cohabitation application has been obtained, the clerk of the town or city or the state registrar shall transfer the information from the contractual cohabitation application, the date that the contractual cohabitation certificate is issued, the name of the clerk or representative of the state registrar, and the name of the city or town of issuance into the state’s vital records system. The clerk shall then issue a contractual cohabitation certificate bearing this information in the form established by the secretary of state. The contractual cohabitation shall be effective on the date the contractual cohabitation certificate is issued.
VI. Upon request of either party, the name of a legal guardian shall be substituted on the contractual cohabitation certificate for a natural parent’s name.
VII. When listing the birthplace on the contractual cohabitation application, if the person is known to have been born in the United States, but the state is unknown then “U.S. - Unknown” shall be entered, and, if the person is known to have been born in a foreign country, but the country is unknown, “Foreign Unknown” shall be entered. If no information is available regarding place of birth, “Unknown” shall be entered.
VIII. The notary public/justice of the peace shall record the following on the contractual cohabitation license application after the contractual cohabitation agreement has been entered into: certification that he or she is a duly commissioned notary public/justice of the peace; the date the parties entered into the contractual cohabitation agreement; the city, town, or location and county where the agreement was entered into; certification that the agreement was entered into in the presence of a notary public/justice of the peace; certification that each party made the required oath or affirmation; that the information entered by the notary public/justice of the peace is correct to the best of his or her knowledge; the signature of the notary public/justice of the peace; the notary public/justice of the peace’s typed, stamped, or printed name; and the date on which the commission as a notary public/justice of the peace expires.
457-A:5 Fee. The fee for registering a contractual cohabitation and receiving a contractual cohabitation certificate shall be $45 to be paid by the parties entering into the agreement. The clerk or the state registrar shall forward $38 from each fee to the department of health and human services for the purposes of RSA 173-B:15. The clerk shall retain the remaining $7 as the fee for making the records of notice, issuing the certificate, and forwarding the $38 portion of the fee. The state registrar shall deposit the remaining $7 into the fund established by RSA 660:31 for the use of the secretary of state and the attorney general as provided by RSA 455:17 for educating the public, clerks, and notaries public/justices of the peace regarding their duties related to contractual cohabitation.
457-A:6 Record of Contractual Cohabitation Application; Penalty for Material Misrepresentation.
I. The clerk or the state registrar shall retain the completed contractual cohabitation application in his or her office. If the application is registered directly with the state registrar, the state registrar’s office shall provide the clerk of the town or city where the agreement was entered into with a paper or electronic record of the contractual cohabitation certificate.
II. A person submitting a contractual cohabitation application to a clerk or the state registrar to register a contractual cohabitation and obtain a contractual cohabitation certificate who makes a material misrepresentation shall be guilty of perjury.
457-A:7 Evidence of Contractual Cohabitation. The original or a certified copy of the contractual cohabitation certificate issued by a clerk or the state registrar shall be presumptive evidence of the contractual cohabitation in all courts.
457-A:8 Modification of Contractual Cohabitation Terms. Parties to a contractual cohabitation may modify the terms, conditions, or effects of their contractual cohabitation in the same manner as an antenuptial agreement or other agreement recognized and enforceable under the law.
457-A:9 Dissolution of Contractual Cohabitations. The superior court shall have jurisdiction over all proceedings relating to the dissolution of contractual cohabitations.
457-A:10 Construction. This chapter shall be construed narrowly in order to secure to eligible persons the option of the legal status of contractual cohabitation with only enumerated benefits, protections, obligations, and responsibilities established by this chapter.
457-A:11 Severability. The provisions of this chapter are severable. If any provision of this chapter is invalid, or if any application thereof to any person or circumstance is invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2008.
LBAO
07-0340
Revised 03/19/07
SB 240 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT establishing contractual cohabitation and extending certain rights to parties to a contractual cohabitation.
FISCAL IMPACT
The Judicial Branch, Department of State, and Department of Health and Human Services states this bill may increase state and local revenue, and state expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2008 and each year thereafter. This bill will have no fiscal impact on county and local expenditures, or county revenue.
METHODOLOGY
The Judicial Branch states this bill would establish contractual cohabitation and extend certain rights to parties to such a contract. The bill lists forty-five statutes or groups of statutes to which the rights granted or the restrictions imposed by the statutes are given to parties to a contractual cohabitation. Many of those statues can give rise to court cases in the event of a dispute between the parties. The largest impact to the Branch would result from Superior Court jurisdiction over proceedings relating to the dissolution of contractual cohabitations. According to the Branch, the cost of a complex domestic case in Superior Court is estimated at $494, and the cost of a routine domestic case is $397. The number of cases resulting from this bill is indeterminable at this time.
The Department of State estimates the following number of contractual cohabitation events based on the volume of civil unions in Vermont:
Contractual Contractual
Cohabitations Cohabitation Divorces
FY 2008 1,700 0
FY 2009 3,800 10
FY 2010 3,400 20
FY 2011 2,800 30
In order to satisfy the requirements of this bill, the Department’s Division of Vital Records Administration (DVRA) would need to modify its policies, develop data collection forms for contractual cohabitation, and make software changes to its registration software. The policy changes would be communicated to all 234 city and town clerks that would be involved in registration of these events. The Department estimates software changes at $20,000 in FY 2008, with annual maintenance at $1,500 in FY 2009 and each year thereafter. Current expenses are estimated at $2,000 in FY 2008 and $1,600 in FY 2009 and each year thereafter. Total costs are estimated at $22,000 in FY 2008, and $3,100 in FY 2009 and each year thereafter. The Department assumes that local clerks would register and issue approximately 75% of the cohabitation contracts, while the state registrar would register 25%. Of the $45 registration fee, $38 would be deposited into the State Domestic Violence Grant Program fund, and the remaining $7 would be split among cities and towns, and the state. Based on the estimates of contractual cohabitations stated above (exclusive of divorce), the Department estimates state restricted revenue would increase by $64,600 in FY 2008, $144,400 in FY 2009, $129,200 in FY 2010, and $106,400 in FY 2011. State general fund revenue would increase by $2,975 in FY 2008, $6,650 in FY 2009, $5,950 in FY 2010, and $4,900 in FY 2011. Local revenue would increase by $8,925 in FY 2008, $19,950 in FY 2009, $17,850 in FY 2010, and $14,700 in FY 2011.
The Department of Health and Human Services states of the forty-five statutory provisions contained in the bill, the Department either has some responsibility to administer or is otherwise involved with twenty-one of the provisions. The number of variables concerning contractual cohabitation, including the number of people who might enter into a contractual cohabitation is unknown. The Department states this bill may increase state revenue and expenditures by an indeterminable amount.
The Department of Justice states any costs associated with this bill could be absorbed by the Department.