ALLOW CIVIL CELEBRANT TO SOLEMNIZE MARRIAGE S.B. 1044 (S-2) & 1045 (S-1):

SUMMARY OF BILL

REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE

 

 

 

 

 

 

Senate Bill 1044 (Substitute S-2 as reported)

Senate Bill 1045 (Substitute S-1 as reported)

Sponsor: Senator Veronica Klinefelt

Committee: Local Government

 

CONTENT

 

Senate Bill 1044 (S-2) would amend Chapter 83 (Of marriage and the solemnization thereof) of the Revised Statutes of 1846 to allow a civil celebrant and a township supervisor to solemnize (officially perform) a marriage. "Civil celebrant" would mean an individual who was at least 18 years of age and who worked in accordance with the wishes of the client couple.

 

Senate Bill 1045 (S-1) would amend Public Act (PA) 128 of 1887 (Marriage Licenses) to replace references to a clergyman or magistrate with references to a marriage officiant, in accordance with Senate Bill 1044's (S-2) proposed changes. In addition, the bill would increase, from $100 to $500, the fine for a marriage officiant who violated any provision of PA 128 of 1887. Finally, the bill would require two witnesses to give their signature instead of residences on a marriage certificate and would require the individual officiating a marriage to fill in the individual's name, title, and address on a marriage certificate.

 

The bills are tie-barred.

 

MCL 551.7 (S.B. 1044)

551.101 et al. (S.B. 1045)

 

BRIEF RATIONALE

 

Many individuals getting married want an individual who they are familiar with and who is significant in their lives to perform their marriage. Reportedly, despite the current requirement that individuals must be specific public officials or ordained ministers to perform a marriage, many individuals fulfill this requirement by purchasing a certificate online that ordains that individual as a minister. While not illegal, this method of ordaining a minister gives the individual no actual training or insight on how to perform and make official a marriage. The bills have been suggested to allow individuals to be married by an individual of their choice because becoming ordained as a minister via an online certificate does not necessarily give insight into performing and making official marriages.

 

FISCAL IMPACT

 

Senate Bill 1045 (S-1) would increase, from $100 to $500, the fine for a violation of PA 128 of 1887, resulting in an increase in funding for local libraries. Revenue from misdemeanor fines is used to fund local and county law libraries. The amount of additional funding is indeterminate and depends on how many violations actually occurred.

 

The bills could have a negative fiscal impact on revenue for cities and counties, but the impact would be extremely minor. Under current law, only judges, magistrates, mayors, county clerks, and employees of Wayne County s Clerk s office (due to the County s size) are authorized to perform marriage ceremonies. Mayors' offices and county clerks are required,


by law, to charge a fee for this service, with most fees between $10 and $20. Judges and magistrates are not required to charge a fee.

 

The language of the bills would not automatically reduce the number of marriages performed by mayors or county clerks. Furthermore, the bills impact on specific counties or cities would depend on the specific situation of each individual county or city. For example, marriage ceremony services are not currently offered by Wayne County, so the bill would have no fiscal impact on the County s revenue. Even if all marriage ceremonies performed by county clerks were instead performed by civil celebrants, the annual loss of revenue for the median-sized county would likely be less than $1,000 per year. There have been about 51,000 marriages in Michigan over each of the last three years, down several thousand per year since before the coronavirus pandemic.

 

Date Completed: 12-3-24 Fiscal Analyst: Joe Carrasco, Jr.

Michael Siracuse

This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.