NY State Senate Bill 2021-S3086

Senate Bill S3086

Signed By Governor

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Increases the age of consent for purposes of marriage to the age of eighteen; and repeals certain provisions of law relating thereto

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Archive: Last Bill Status - Signed by Governor

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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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jul 22, 2021	signed chap.306
Jul 21, 2021	delivered to governor
Jun 02, 2021	returned to senate passed assembly ordered to third reading rules cal.305 substituted for a3891
May 11, 2021	referred to judiciary delivered to assembly passed senate
Mar 11, 2021	advanced to third reading
Mar 10, 2021	2nd report cal.
Mar 09, 2021	1st report cal.527
Jan 27, 2021	referred to judiciary

Votes

- May 11, 2021 - Floor Vote
  S3086
  
  61
  
  Aye
  
  2
  
  Nay
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Floor Vote: May 11, 2021
      
      aye (61)
      
      Addabbo Jr.
      
      Akshar
      
      Bailey
      
      Benjamin
      
      Biaggi
      
      Borrello
      
      Boyle
      
      Breslin
      
      Brisport
      
      Brooks
      
      Brouk
      
      Comrie
      
      Cooney
      
      Gallivan
      
      Gaughran
      
      Gianaris
      
      Gounardes
      
      Griffo
      
      Harckham
      
      Helming
      
      Hinchey
      
      Hoylman-Sigal
      
      Jackson
      
      Jordan
      
      Kaminsky
      
      Kaplan
      
      Kavanagh
      
      Kennedy
      
      Krueger
      
      Liu
      
      Mannion
      
      Martucci
      
      Mattera
      
      May
      
      Mayer
      
      Myrie
      
      O'Mara
      
      Oberacker
      
      Ortt
      
      Palumbo
      
      Parker
      
      Persaud
      
      Ramos
      
      Rath III
      
      Reichlin-Melnick
      
      Ritchie
      
      Rivera
      
      Ryan
      
      Salazar
      
      Sanders Jr.
      
      Savino
      
      Sepúlveda
      
      Serino
      
      Serrano
      
      Skoufis
      
      Stavisky
      
      Stec
      
      Stewart-Cousins
      
      Tedisco
      
      Thomas
      
      Weik
      
      nay (2)
      
      Felder
      
      Lanza
  Mar 9, 2021 - Judiciary Committee Vote
  S3086
  
  14
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  1
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Judiciary Committee Vote: Mar 9, 2021
      
      aye (14)
      
      Bailey
      
      Biaggi
      
      Boyle
      
      Breslin
      
      Gounardes
      
      Hoylman-Sigal
      
      Kaplan
      
      Myrie
      
      O'Mara
      
      Oberacker
      
      Palumbo
      
      Skoufis
      
      Stavisky
      
      Thomas
      
      aye wr (1)
      
      Lanza

co-Sponsors

View additional co-sponsors

2021-S3086 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A3891
Law Section:: Domestic Relations Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§15-a, 13-b, 25 & 7, rpld §15 sub 3, §11-a sub 1 ¶c, §84, Dom Rel L
Versions Introduced in 2019-2020 Legislative Session:: S7931, A8447

2021-S3086 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Increases the age of consent for purposes of marriage to the age of eighteen.

2021-S3086 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S3086           Revised 5/11/2021

SPONSOR: SALAZAR
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the domestic relations law, in relation to increasing
the age of consent for purposes of marriage to the age of eighteen; and
to repeal certain provisions of such law relating thereto

 
PURPOSE:

To increase the age of consent, in relation to marriage, to the age of
eighteen.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends section 15-a of the domestic relations law, prohibiting
any marriage in which either party is under the age of eighteen.

Section 2 amends section 13-b of the domestic relations law to conform
with raising the age of marriage to eighteen, by removing the prior

provision stating that parties must be at least seventeen in order for
clergyman or magistrate to solemnize such marriages without waiting
specified periods of time. This provision would no longer be relevant
when this bill is enacted.

Section 3 amends section 25 of the domestic relations law to conform
with raising the age of marriage to eighteen by removing a provision
that referred to marriages between minors or with a minor. This
provision would no longer be relevant when this bill is enacted.

Section 4 amends subdivision 1 of section 7 of the domestic relations
law, removing text in order to make any marriage where either party is
under the age of eighteen voidable. This provision would no longer be
relevant when this bill is enacted.

Section 5 REPEALS subdivision 3 of section 15 of the domestic relations
law, which relates to criteria that must be met prior to a town or city
clerk issued a marriage license to a couple when either party is less
than eighteen years of age but at least seventeen. This provision would
no longer be relevant when this bill is enacted.

Section 6 REPEALS paragraph c of subdivision 1 of section 11-a of the
domestic relations law, which relates to the duty of a city clerk to
solemnize the rites of matrimony between parties in which one or both
individuals are under eighteen. This provision would no longer be rele-
vant when this bill is enacted.

Section 7 REPEALS section 84 of the domestic relations law relating to
the impact on a guardianship of a marriage by a person prior to reaching
the age of eighteen. This provision would no longer be relevant when
this bill is enacted.

Section 8 states that this act will take effect, thirty days after it
becomes law, it will apply to licenses issued after such date and to
marriages that had not been solemnized prior to said date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Many states have laws that allow the marriage of parties under the age
of consent solely based on having parents' consent. This. leads to chil-
dren as young as 10 years old being married to adults. With the United
Nations declaring forced marriages akin to slavery, it is only right
that New York State take a stance against this practice by prohibiting
any marriages between parties under the age of eighteen.

In December of 2018, The Tahirih Justice Center reported that from 2000
to 2015 over 200,000 children under the age of eighteen were married. Of
those 200,000, 87% were girls and 86% married adults.  While the legal
age to consent marriage is eighteen in most states, many have laws that
allow for exceptions including 13 states that have no minimum age
requirement for such restrictions.

Child marriages in the United States lead to the diminishment of the
mental and physical health of the girls involved. U.S. women who married
as children experience higher rates of psychiatric disorders, are more
likely to seek mental health services and have a 23% higher greater risk
of developing a serious health condition. Additionally, young women aged
16-24 experience intimate partner violence at three times the national
average amongst all such victims and the younger that the adolescent is,
the higher chance there is of them having experienced coercive sex.

This bill does not imply in any way that minors have a diminished capac-
ity to consent to health care or other services authorized under law and
regulation.

 
GENDER JUSTICE IMPACT:

According to the United Nations (UNICEF), child marriage is often the
result of entrenched gender inequality, making girls disproportionately
affected by this practice. This legislation would protect the autonomy
of young girls that find themselves forced to marry as children. In
waiting an additional year to marry, there is a greater likelihood that
women are making their own decision to marry, are not pressured into
coercive sex, and are not experiencing emotional or physical abuse.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2019-20: S 7931 / A 8447 introduced and referred to judiciary committees
in each house.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Child marriage is an impediment to social and economic development. It
often leads to forfeited education, limited participation in the work
force, and overall reduced earnings. These consequences have impli-
cations for the women, their families and future generations.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Thirty days after it shall have become law.

2021-S3086 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   3086
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 27, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  SALAZAR, BAILEY, BENJAMIN, BIAGGI, BOYLE, COMRIE,
   HOYLMAN, JACKSON, KAPLAN, KRUEGER, MAY, MAYER, MYRIE,  RAMOS,  RIVERA,
   SEPULVEDA  --  read  twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be
   committed to the Committee on Judiciary
 
 AN ACT to amend the domestic relations law, in  relation  to  increasing
   the  age  of  consent for purposes of marriage to the age of eighteen;
   and to repeal certain provisions of such law relating thereto
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section 15-a of the domestic relations law, as amended by
 chapter 35 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   § 15-a. Marriages of minors under [seventeen] EIGHTEEN years  of  age.
 Any marriage in which either party is under the age of [seventeen] EIGH-
 TEEN  years is hereby prohibited. Any town or city clerk who shall know-
 ingly issue a marriage license to any persons, one or both of whom shall
 be at the time of their contemplated marriage actually under the age  of
 [seventeen]  EIGHTEEN  years,  shall  be  guilty of a misdemeanor and on
 conviction thereof shall be fined in the sum of one hundred dollars.
   § 2. 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  performing  the  marriage ceremony, or if the
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD03014-01-1

 S. 3086                             2
 
 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  thereby,  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 solem-
 nization of the marriage and upon filing such order with  the  clergyman
 or magistrate 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  magistrate  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 must file such
 order with the town or city clerk who issued  the  license  within  five
 days  after  the  marriage  is  solemnized. 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, statements, consents and licenses, and when so
 recorded the order shall 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.
   § 3. Section 25 of the domestic relations law is amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   §  25.  License,  when  to be obtained. The provisions of this article
 pertaining to the granting of the licenses  before  a  marriage  can  be
 lawfully  celebrated  apply  to  all  persons  who  assume  the marriage
 relation in accordance with subdivision four of section eleven  of  this
 chapter.  Nothing in this article contained shall be construed to render
 void by reason of a failure to procure a marriage license  any  marriage
 solemnized  between persons of full age [nor to render void any marriage
 between minors or with a minor under the legal age of consent where  the
 consent  of parent or guardian has been given and such marriage shall be
 for such cause voidable only as to minors or a minor upon  complaint  of
 such minors or minor or of the parent or guardian thereof].
   §  4.  Subdivision  1  of  section 7 of the domestic relations law, as
 amended by chapter 313 of the laws  of  1962,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   1.  Is  under  the  age  of  legal  consent, which is eighteen years[,
 provided that such nonage shall not of  itself  constitute  an  absolute
 right  to the annulment of such marriage, but such annulment shall be in
 the discretion of the court which shall take into consideration all  the
 facts and circumstances surrounding such marriage];
   §  5.  Subdivision  3  of  section 15 of the domestic relations law is
 REPEALED.
   § 6. Paragraph c of subdivision 1 of  section  11-a  of  the  domestic
 relations law is REPEALED.
   § 7. Section 84 of the domestic relations law is REPEALED.

 S. 3086                             3
 
   §  8.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
 have become a law and shall apply to licenses issued on and  after  such
 effective  date  and to marriages that have not been solemnized prior to
 such effective date.

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