NY State Senate Bill 2019-S7239

Senate Bill S7239

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Allows certificates of marriage from foreign governments and religious institutions as acceptable documentation to change a name on a driver's license or non-driver identification card

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Transportation Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 13, 2020	referred to transportation

2019-S7239 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A9083
Current Committee:: Senate Transportation
Law Section:: Vehicle and Traffic Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §502, V & T L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: S119, A3704
2023-2024: S4055

2019-S7239 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Allows certificates of marriage from foreign governments and religious institutions as acceptable documentation to change a name on a driver's license or non-driver identification card.

2019-S7239 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S7239

SPONSOR: KAPLAN
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to allowing
certificates of marriage from foreign governments and religious insti-
tutions as acceptable documentation to change a name on the driver's
license or non-driver identification card

 
PURPOSE:

This legislation would make a marriage certificate issued by a foreign
government, or a bona fide religious institution that issues certif-
icates of marriage in a foreign country acceptable forms when an indi-
vidual seeks to change their name to their married name.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends Section 502 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law by adding a
new subdivision 1-a to require in addition to other acceptable documents

for changing a person's name on a driver's license, a certificate of
marriage from the government of a foreign country or from a bona fide
religious institution that issues certificates of marriage in a foreign
country.

Section 2 amends Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 502 by adding a new
subdivision 3-a to add to already acceptable documentation on a non-
driver's license, a marriage certificate from the government of a
foreign country or from a bona fide religious institutions that issues
certificates of marriage in a foreign country.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Throughout this world, there are countries that have disparate views on
the performance of weddings as either a civil or a religious ceremony.
Some countries require a wedding to be performed as a civil ceremony so
that the government can "legalize" the wedding; other countries take the
opposite approach and leave marriage up to the religious institutions
that are within that Country. While many countries accept both. While
the State of New York views these marriages as legal for the purpose of
the relationship between spouses, the New York State DMV currently does
not accept a religious marriage certificate as a means to allow for a
name change on a New York Driver's License, or Non Driver ID. This
legislation seeks to ensure that both foreign civil and religious
marriage licenses are deemed acceptable in the views of the DMV when it
comes to a name change.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

None.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day.

2019-S7239 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7239
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 13, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  KAPLAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
 
 AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law,  in  relation  to  allowing
   certificates of marriage from foreign governments and religious insti-
   tutions  as  acceptable documentation to change a name on the driver's
   license or non-driver identification card

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section  502 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended by
 adding a new subdivision 1-a to read as follows:
   1-A. IN ADDITION TO ANY OTHER DOCUMENTATION ACCEPTABLE TO THE  COMMIS-
 SIONER  FOR  THE  PURPOSES  OF  CHANGING  A  PERSON'S NAME ON A DRIVER'S
 LICENSE PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS  SECTION,  THE  COMMISSIONER
 SHALL  ACCEPT A CERTIFICATE OF MARRIAGE FROM THE GOVERNMENT OF A FOREIGN
 COUNTRY OR FROM A BONA FIDE RELIGIOUS INSTITUTION  THAT  ISSUES  CERTIF-
 ICATES OF MARRIAGE IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY.
   §  2.  Section  502 vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new
 subdivision 3-a to read as follows:
   3-A. IN ADDITION TO ANY OTHER DOCUMENTATION ACCEPTABLE TO THE  COMMIS-
 SIONER  FOR  THE  PURPOSES  OF  CHANGING A PERSON'S NAME ON A NON-DRIVER
 IDENTIFICATION CARD PURSUANT TO  SUBDIVISIONS  TWO  AND  THREE  OF  THIS
 SECTION,  THE  COMMISSIONER  SHALL ACCEPT A CERTIFICATE OF MARRIAGE FROM
 THE GOVERNMENT OF A FOREIGN COUNTRY OR FROM A BONA FIDE RELIGIOUS INSTI-
 TUTION THAT ISSUES CERTIFICATES OF MARRIAGE IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth  day  after  it  shall
 have become a law. 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 to be made  and  completed
 on or before such date.
 

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD14550-01-9

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