S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
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5858--B
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
May 3, 2017
___________
Introduced by Sen. RITCHIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary -- recommitted
to the Committee on Judiciary in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8
-- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended
and recommitted to said committee -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee
AN ACT to amend the domestic relations law and the executive law, in
relation to designating lay individuals to solemnize marriages
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Subdivisions 1, 1-a, 2 and 3-a of section 11 of the domes-
tic relations law, subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 95 of the laws of
2011, subdivision 1-a as amended by chapter 96 of the laws of 2011,
subdivision 2 as amended by section 1 of subpart E of part B of chapter
20 of the laws of 2015, and subdivision 3-a as added by chapter 450 of
the laws of 2014, are amended and a new subdivision 3-b is added to read
as follows:
1. A clergyman or minister of any religion, or by the senior leader,
or any of the other leaders, of The Society for Ethical Culture in the
city of New York, having its principal office in the borough of Manhat-
tan, or by the leader of The Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture,
having its principal office in the borough of Brooklyn of the city of
New York, or of the Westchester Ethical Society, having its principal
office in Westchester county, or of the Ethical Culture Society of Long
Island, having its principal office in Nassau county, or of the River-
dale-Yonkers Ethical Society having its principal office in Bronx coun-
ty, or by the leader of any other Ethical Culture Society affiliated
with the American Ethical Union; provided that no clergyman or minister
as defined in section two of the religious corporations law, or Society
for Ethical Culture leader shall be required to solemnize any marriage
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02161-09-8
S. 5858--B 2
when acting in his or her capacity under this subdivision. [1-a.] A
refusal by a clergyman or minister as defined in section two of the
religious corporations law, or Society for Ethical Culture leader to
solemnize any marriage under this subdivision shall not create a civil
claim or cause of action or result in any state or local government
action to penalize, withhold benefits or discriminate against such cler-
gyman or minister[.]; OR,
2. The current or a former governor, a mayor of a village, a county
executive of a county, or a mayor, recorder, city magistrate, police
justice or police magistrate of a city, a former mayor or the city clerk
of a city of the first class of over one million inhabitants or any of
his or her deputies or not more than four regular clerks, designated by
him or her for such purpose as provided in section eleven-a of this
article, except that in cities which contain more than one hundred thou-
sand and less than one million inhabitants, a marriage shall be solem-
nized by the mayor, or police justice, and by no other officer of such
city, except as provided in subdivisions one and three of this
section[.]; OR,
3-a. A judge or peacemaker judge of any Indian tribal court, a chief,
a headman, or any member of any tribal council or other governing body
of any nation, tribe or band of Indians in this state duly designated by
such body for the purpose of officiating at marriages, or any other
persons duly designated by such body, in keeping with the culture and
traditions of any such nation, tribe or band of Indians in this state,
to officiate at marriages[.]; OR,
3-B. A ONE-DAY MARRIAGE OFFICIANT, AS DESIGNATED BY THE SECRETARY OF
STATE PURSUANT TO SECTION ONE HUNDRED TEN OF THE EXECUTIVE LAW; OR,
§ 2. Section 12 of the domestic relations law is amended to read as
follows:
§ 12. Marriage, how solemnized. No particular form or ceremony is
required when a marriage is solemnized as herein provided by a clergyman
[or], magistrate, OR ONE-DAY MARRIAGE OFFICIANT AS DESIGNATED BY THE
SECRETARY OF STATE PURSUANT TO SECTION ONE HUNDRED TEN OF THE EXECUTIVE
LAW but the parties must solemnly declare in the presence of a clergyman
[or], magistrate, OR ONE-DAY MARRIAGE OFFICIANT and the attending
witness or witnesses that they take each other as [husband and wife]
SPOUSES. In every case, at least one witness beside the clergyman [or],
magistrate, OR ONE-DAY MARRIAGE OFFICIANT must be present at the ceremo-
ny.
The preceding provisions of this chapter, so far as they relate to the
manner of solemnizing marriages, shall not affect marriages among the
people called friends or quakers; nor marriages among the people of any
other denominations having as such any particular mode of solemnizing
marriages; but such marriages must be solemnized in the manner hereto-
fore used and practiced in their respective societies or denominations,
and marriages so solemnized shall be as valid as if this article had not
been enacted.
§ 3. Section 13 of the domestic relations law, as amended by chapter
95 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
§ 13. Marriage licenses. It shall be necessary for all persons
intended to be married in New York state to obtain a marriage license
from a town or city clerk in New York state and to deliver said license,
within sixty days, to the clergyman [or], magistrate, OR ONE-DAY
MARRIAGE OFFICIANT AS DESIGNATED BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE PURSUANT TO
SECTION ONE HUNDRED TEN OF THE EXECUTIVE LAW who is to officiate before
the marriage ceremony may be performed. In case of a marriage contracted
S. 5858--B 3
pursuant to subdivision four of section eleven of this chapter, such
license shall be delivered to the judge of the court of record before
whom the acknowledgment is to be taken. If either party to the marriage
resides upon an island located not less than twenty-five miles from the
office or residence of the town clerk of the town of which such island
is a part, and if such office or residence is not on such island such
license may be obtained from any justice of the peace residing on such
island, and such justice, in respect to powers and duties relating to
marriage licenses, shall be subject to the provisions of this article
governing town clerks and shall file all statements or affidavits
received by him while acting under the provisions of this section with
the town clerk of such town. No application for a marriage license shall
be denied on the ground that the parties are of the same, or a differ-
ent, sex.
§ 4. Section 13-b of the domestic relations law, as amended by chapter
35 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows:
§ 13-b. Time within which marriage may be solemnized. A marriage shall
not be solemnized within twenty-four hours after the issuance of the
marriage license, unless authorized by an order of a court of record as
hereinafter provided, nor shall it be solemnized after sixty days from
the date of the issuance of the marriage license unless authorized
pursuant to section three hundred fifty-four-d of the executive law.
Every license to marry hereafter issued by a town or city clerk, in
addition to other requirements specified by this chapter, must contain a
statement of the day and the hour the license is issued and the period
during which the marriage may be solemnized. It shall be the duty of the
clergyman [or], magistrate, OR ONE-DAY MARRIAGE OFFICIANT, AS DESIGNATED
BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE PURSUANT TO SECTION ONE HUNDRED TEN OF THE
EXECUTIVE LAW, performing the marriage ceremony, or if the marriage is
solemnized by written contract, of the judge before whom the contract is
acknowledged, to annex to or endorse upon the marriage license the date
and hour the marriage is solemnized. A judge or justice of the supreme
court of this state or the county judge of the county in which either
party to be married resides, or if such party is at least seventeen
years of age, the judge of the family court of such county, if it shall
appear from an examination of the license and any other proofs submitted
by the parties that one of the parties is in danger of imminent death,
or by reason of other emergency public interest will be promoted there-
by, or that such delay will work irreparable injury or great hardship
upon the contracting parties, or one of them, may, upon making written
affirmative findings under subdivision three of section fifteen of this
article, make an order authorizing the immediate solemnization of the
marriage and upon filing such order with the clergyman [or], magistrate,
OR ONE-DAY MARRIAGE OFFICIANT performing the marriage ceremony, or if
the marriage is to be solemnized by written contract, with the judge
before whom the contract is acknowledged, such clergyman [or], magis-
trate, OR ONE DAY MARRIAGE OFFICIANT may solemnize such marriage, or
such judge may take such acknowledgment as the case may be, without
waiting for such three day period and twenty-four hour period to elapse.
The clergyman, magistrate [or], judge, OR ONE-DAY MARRIAGE OFFICIANT, AS
DESIGNATED BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE PURSUANT TO SECTION ONE HUNDRED TEN
OF THE EXECUTIVE LAW, must file such order with the town or city clerk
who issued the license within five days after the marriage is solem-
nized. Such town or city clerk must record and index the order in the
book required to be kept by him or her for recording affidavits, state-
ments, consents and licenses, and when so recorded the order shall
S. 5858--B 4
become a public record and available in any prosecution under this
section. A person who shall solemnize a marriage in violation of this
section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof
shall be punished by a fine of fifty dollars for each offense, and in
addition thereto, his or her right to solemnize a marriage shall be
suspended for ninety days.
§ 5. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 110 to read
as follows:
§ 110. DESIGNATION OF ONE-DAY MARRIAGE OFFICIANT. THE SECRETARY, OR
HIS OR HER DESIGNEE, SHALL ISSUE ONE-DAY MARRIAGE OFFICIANT DESIGNATIONS
TO LAYPERSONS OVER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN REGARDLESS OF STATE RESIDENCE WHO
INTEND TO PERFORM A MARRIAGE SOLEMNIZATION CEREMONY WITHIN THE STATE.
SUCH DESIGNATIONS SHALL ONLY BE ISSUED AFTER AN APPLICANT REMITS A
COMPLETED APPLICATION FORM AND FEE, BOTH TO BE DETERMINED BY THE SECRE-
TARY. THE APPLICATION FORM SHALL REQUIRE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION AND
BE ACCOMPANIED BY LEGAL PROOF OF IDENTIFICATION. FROM THE APPLICANT
REQUESTING DESIGNATION: APPLICANT NAME, DATE OF BIRTH, LEGAL ADDRESS,
EMAIL ADDRESS AND TELEPHONE NUMBER. THE APPLICATION FORM SHALL ALSO
REQUIRE THE NAMES, ADDRESSES AND BIRTH DATES OF THE PARTIES TO BE
MARRIED AS THEY APPEAR ON THE APPLICATION FOR A MARRIAGE LICENSE ISSUED
BY A TOWN OR CITY CLERK IN THE STATE, THE NAME OF THE CITY, TOWN OR
VILLAGE IN WHICH SUCH SOLEMNIZATION WILL BE PERFORMED AND THE EXACT DATE
OF THE SOLEMNIZATION. THE APPLICATION AND FEE MUST BE RECEIVED BY THE
DEPARTMENT AT LEAST THIRTY DAYS BEFORE THE DATE OF THE CEREMONY. THE
DEPARTMENT SHALL NOTIFY THE APPLICANT OF APPROVAL OF SUCH DESIGNATION NO
LATER THAN SEVEN DAYS PRIOR TO THE DATE OF THE MARRIAGE CEREMONY STATED
ON THE APPLICATION. SUCH DESIGNATIONS SHALL ONLY BE VALID FOR THE CERE-
MONY STATED ON THE APPLICATION AND SHALL EXPIRE UPON COMPLETION OF SUCH
SOLEMNIZATION.
§ 6. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
have become a law; provided, however, that effective immediately, the
addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary
for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized
and directed to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
