Bill Text: NY A05524 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Increases the age of consent for purposes of marriage; prohibits marriages of minors under the age of seventeen years of age.
Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 76-6)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-06-08 - substituted by s4407b [A05524 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-A05524-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5524--B 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 10, 2017 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN, DINOWITZ, LAVINE, SEAWRIGHT, SIMON, STECK, TITUS, ZEBROWSKI, ABINANTI, HEVESI, COLTON, ENGLEBRIGHT, GALEF, GJONAJ, GOTTFRIED, JAFFEE, McDONALD, SOLAGES, THIELE, GRAF, CROUCH, LAWRENCE, McDONOUGH, RAIA, FAHY, TITONE, D'URSO, DE LA ROSA, SKARTA- DOS, MAYER, JENNE, SEPULVEDA, MOSLEY, ROSENTHAL, WALKER, SIMOTAS, MOYA, HUNTER, HARRIS, QUART, BARRON, BLAKE, JOYNER, AUBRY, RIVERA, LENTOL, VANEL, WILLIAMS, WEPRIN, BICHOTTE, STIRPE, OTIS, RODRIGUEZ, PICHARDO, PRETLOW, LUPARDO, WRIGHT, M. G. MILLER, BENEDETTO, HOOPER, CARROLL, ORTIZ, RICHARDSON, CUSICK, DAVILA, ABBATE, ARROYO, BRINDISI, GUNTHER, COOK, DenDEKKER, LIFTON, WALLACE, DICKENS, KAVANAGH, CRESPO, BRAUNSTEIN, MURRAY -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. DILAN, GIGLIO, GLICK, HYNDMAN, JEAN-PIERRE, MAGEE, PERRY -- read once and referred to the Committee on Judiciary -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- again reported from said committee with amendments, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the domestic relations law, in relation to increasing the age of consent for purposes of marriage to the age of seventeen The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1, and subdivisions 2, 3 and 4 2 of section 15 of the domestic relations law, paragraph (a) of subdivi- 3 sion 1 as amended by chapter 415 of the laws of 2014, subdivision 2 as 4 amended by chapter 126 of the laws of 1984, subdivision 3 as amended by 5 section 5 of part W2 of chapter 62 of the laws of 2003 and subdivision 4 6 as amended by chapter 424 of the laws of 1990, are amended to read as 7 follows: 8 (a) It shall be the duty of the town or city clerk when an application 9 for a marriage license is made to him or her to require each of the 10 contracting parties to sign and verify a statement or affidavit before 11 such clerk or one of his or her deputies, containing the following EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD07462-09-7A. 5524--B 2 1 information. From [the groom] party one: Full name [of husband], place 2 of residence, social security number, age, occupation, place of birth, 3 name of father, country of birth, maiden name of mother, country of 4 birth, number of marriage. From [the bride] party two: Full name [of5bride], place of residence, social security number, age, occupation, 6 place of birth, name of father, country of birth, maiden name of mother, 7 country of birth, number of marriage. Both parties shall also be 8 required to present to the clerk documentary proof of age in the form of 9 an original or certified copy of a birth record, a certification of 10 birth issued by the state department of health, a local registrar of 11 vital statistics or other public officer charged with similar duties by 12 the laws of any other state, territory or country, a baptismal record, a 13 passport, an automobile driver's license, any government or school 14 issued identification card that contains a photograph of the applicant, 15 a life insurance policy, an employment certificate, a school record, an 16 immigration record, a naturalization record, a court record or any other 17 document or record issued by a governmental entity, showing the date of 18 birth of such parties. The said clerk shall also embody in the statement 19 if either or both of the applicants have been previously married, a 20 statement as to whether the former [husband or husbands or the former21wife or wives] spouse or spouses of the respective applicants are living 22 or dead and as to whether either or both of said applicants are divorced 23 persons, if so, when and where and against whom the divorce or divorces 24 were granted and shall also embody therein a statement that no legal 25 impediment exists as to the right of each of the applicants to enter 26 into the marriage state. The town or city clerk is hereby given full 27 power and authority to administer oaths and may require the applicants 28 to produce witnesses to identify them or either of them and may examine 29 under oath or otherwise other witnesses as to any material inquiry 30 pertaining to the issuing of the license, and if the applicant is a 31 divorced person the clerk may also require the production of a certified 32 copy of the decree of the divorce, or proof of an existing marriage of 33 parties who apply for a license to be used for a second or subsequent 34 ceremony; provided, however, that in cities or towns the verified state- 35 ments and affidavits may be made before any regular clerk or designee of 36 the clerk's office. 37 2. If it appears from the affidavits and statements so taken, and from 38 the documentary proof of age presented, that the persons for whose 39 marriage the license in question is demanded are legally competent to 40 marry, the said clerk shall issue such license [except in the following41cases. If it shall appear upon an application that the applicant is42under eighteen years of age, before the town or city clerk shall issue a43license, he shall require documentary proof of age in the form of an44original or certified copy of a birth record, a certification of birth45issued by the state department of health, a local registrar of vital46statistics or other public officer charged with similar duties by the47laws of any other state, territory or country, a baptismal record, pass-48port, automobile driver's license, life insurance policy, employment49certificate, school record, immigration record, naturalization record or50court record, showing the date of birth of such minor. If the town or51city clerk shall be in doubt as to whether an applicant claiming to be52over eighteen years of age is actually over eighteen years of age, he53shall, before issuing such license, require documentary proof as above54defined]. 55 3. If it shall appear upon an application of the applicants as 56 provided in this section or upon information required by the clerk thatA. 5524--B 3 1 either party is at least [sixteen] seventeen years of age but under 2 eighteen years of age, then the town or city clerk before he shall issue 3 a license shall require: 4 (a) the written consent to the marriage from both parents of the minor 5 or minors or such as shall then be living, or if the parents of both are 6 dead, then the written consent of the guardian or guardians of such 7 minor or minors. If one of the parents has been missing and has not been 8 seen or heard from for a period of one year preceding the time of the 9 application for the license, although diligent inquiry has been made to 10 learn the whereabouts of such parent, the town or city clerk may issue a 11 license to such minor upon the sworn statement and consent of the other 12 parent. If the marriage of the parents of such minor has been dissolved 13 by decree of divorce or annulment, the consent of the parent to whom the 14 court which granted the decree has awarded the custody of such minor 15 shall be sufficient. If there is no parent or guardian of the minor or 16 minors living to their knowledge then the town or city clerk shall 17 require the written consent to the marriage of the person under whose 18 care or government the minor or minors may be before a license shall be 19 issued. If a parent of such minor has been adjudicated an incompetent, 20 the town or city clerk may issue a license to such minor upon the 21 production of a certified copy of such judgment so determining and upon 22 the written consent of the other parent. If there is no other parent 23 whose consent is required by this section, then and in such event, the 24 town or city clerk shall require the written consent of the guardian of 25 such minor or of the person under whose care or government the minor may 26 be before a license shall be issued. The parents, guardians, or other 27 persons whose consent it shall be necessary to obtain and file with the 28 town or city clerk before the license shall issue, shall personally 29 appear and acknowledge or execute the same before the town or city 30 clerk, or some other officer authorized to administer oaths and take 31 acknowledgments provided that where such affidavit or acknowledgment is 32 made before an official other than an officer designated in section two 33 hundred ninety-eight of the real property law as authorized to take such 34 affidavit or acknowledgment if a conveyance of real property were being 35 acknowledged or proved, or if a certificate of authentication would be 36 required by section three hundred ten of the real property law to enti- 37 tle the instrument to be recorded if it were a conveyance of real prop- 38 erty, the consent when filed must have attached thereto a certificate of 39 authentication[.403. If it shall appear upon an application for a marriage license that41either party is under the age of sixteen years, the town or city clerk42shall require, in addition to any consents provided for in this43section,]; and 44 (b) the written approval [and consent] of a justice of the supreme 45 court or of a judge of the family court, having jurisdiction over the 46 town or city in which the application is made, to be attached to or 47 endorsed upon the application, before the license is issued. The appli- 48 cation for such approval [and consent] may be made by either minor party 49 to the proposed marriage and shall be heard by the judge at chambers. 50 The justice of the supreme court or the judge of the family court shall 51 appoint an attorney for the child for each minor party immediately upon 52 the application for approval. The attorney for the child must have 53 received training in domestic violence including a component on forced 54 marriage. All papers and records pertaining to any such application 55 shall be sealed [by him] and withheld from inspection, except by orderA. 5524--B 4 1 of a court of competent jurisdiction. Before issuing any approval, the 2 justice of the supreme court or the judge of the family court shall: 3 (i) provide notification to each minor party of his or her rights, 4 including but not limited to, rights in relation to termination of the 5 marriage, child and spousal support, domestic violence services and 6 access to public benefits and other services, which notification shall 7 be developed by the office of court administration, in consultation with 8 the office for the prevention of domestic violence; 9 (ii) with respect to each party, including a minor party, conduct a 10 review of related decisions in court proceedings initiated pursuant to 11 article ten of the family court act, and all warrants issued under the 12 family court act, and reports of the statewide computerized registry of 13 orders of protection established and maintained pursuant to section two 14 hundred twenty-one-a of the executive law, and reports of the sex offen- 15 der registry established and maintained pursuant to section one hundred 16 sixty-eight-b of the correction law; and 17 (iii) have an in camera interview, separately with each minor party, 18 and make the following written affirmative findings: 19 A. that it is the minor's own will that the minor enter into the 20 marriage; 21 B. that the minor is not being compelled by force, threat, persuasion, 22 fraud, coercion or duress; and 23 C. that the marriage will not endanger the mental, emotional or phys- 24 ical safety of the minor. 25 In making such findings, the court shall consider, among other rele- 26 vant factors, the age difference between the parties intending to be 27 married, whether there is a power imbalance between the parties intend- 28 ing to be married, whether the parties are incapable of consenting to a 29 marriage for want of understanding, whether there is a history of domes- 30 tic violence between the parties and whether there is a history of 31 domestic violence between a party and either parties' or legal guardi- 32 ans' family members. The wishes of the parents or legal guardians of the 33 minor intending to be married shall not be the sole basis for approval 34 under this subdivision. 35 Upon the approval of the justice of the supreme court or the judge of 36 the family court of the application to marry, each minor party shall 37 have all the rights of an adult, including the right to enter into a 38 contract, except for those specific constitutional and statutory age 39 requirements such as, but not limited to, voting, use of alcoholic 40 beverages, and other health or safety statutes relevant to him or her 41 because of his or her age. 42 4. Before issuing any licenses herein provided for, the town or city 43 clerk shall be entitled to a fee of thirty dollars, which sum shall be 44 paid by the applicants before or at the time the license is issued. Any 45 town or city clerk who shall issue a license to marry any persons one or 46 both of whom shall not be at the time of the marriage under such license 47 legally competent to marry without first requiring the parties to such 48 marriage to make such affidavits and statements or who shall not require 49 the production of documentary proof of age or the procuring of the 50 approval and consents provided for by this article, which shall show 51 that the parties authorized by said license to be married are legally 52 competent to marry, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction 53 thereof shall be fined in the sum of one hundred dollars for each and 54 every offense. On or before the fifteenth day of each month, each town 55 and city clerk, except in the city of New York, shall transmit to the 56 state commissioner of health twenty-two dollars and fifty cents of theA. 5524--B 5 1 amount received for each fee collected, which shall be paid into the 2 vital records management account as provided by section ninety-seven- 3 cccc of the state finance law. In any city the balance of all fees 4 collected for the issuing of a marriage license, or for solemnizing a 5 marriage, so far as collected for services rendered by any officer or 6 employee of such city, shall be paid monthly into the city treasury and 7 may by ordinance be credited to any fund therein designated, and said 8 ordinance, when duly enacted, shall have the force of law in such city. 9 Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, the clerk of any 10 city with the approval of the governing body of such city is hereby 11 authorized to designate, in writing filed in the city clerk's office, a 12 deputy clerk, if any, and/or other city employees in such office to 13 receive applications for, examine applications, investigate and issue 14 marriage licenses in the absence or inability of the clerk of said city 15 to act, and said deputy and/or employees so designated are hereby vested 16 with all the powers and duties of said city clerk relative thereto. Such 17 deputy and/or employees shall perform said duties without additional 18 compensation. 19 [4.] 5. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the city 20 clerk of the city of New York, before issuing any licenses herein 21 provided for, shall be entitled to a fee of twenty-five dollars, which 22 sum shall be paid by the applicants before or at the time the license is 23 issued and all such fees so received shall be paid monthly into the city 24 treasury. 25 § 2. Section 13-b of the domestic relations law, as amended by chapter 26 652 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows: 27 § 13-b. Time within which marriage may be solemnized. A marriage shall 28 not be solemnized within twenty-four hours after the issuance of the 29 marriage license, unless authorized by an order of a court of record as 30 hereinafter provided, nor shall it be solemnized after sixty days from 31 the date of the issuance of the marriage license unless authorized 32 pursuant to section three hundred fifty-four-d of the executive law. 33 Every license to marry hereafter issued by a town or city clerk, in 34 addition to other requirements specified by this chapter, must contain a 35 statement of the day and the hour the license is issued and the period 36 during which the marriage may be solemnized. It shall be the duty of the 37 clergyman or magistrate performing the marriage ceremony, or if the 38 marriage is solemnized by written contract, of the judge before whom the 39 contract is acknowledged, to annex to or endorse upon the marriage 40 license the date and hour the marriage is solemnized. A judge or justice 41 of the supreme court of this state or the county judge of the county in 42 which either party to be married resides, or if such party is [under43sixteen] at least seventeen years of age, the judge of the family court 44 of such county, if it shall appear from an examination of the license 45 and any other proofs submitted by the parties that one of the parties is 46 in danger of imminent death, or by reason of other emergency public 47 interest will be promoted thereby, or that such delay will work irrepar- 48 able injury or great hardship upon the contracting parties, or one of 49 them, may, upon making written affirmative findings under subdivision 50 three of section fifteen of this article, make an order authorizing the 51 immediate solemnization of the marriage and upon filing such order with 52 the clergyman or magistrate performing the marriage ceremony, or if the 53 marriage is to be solemnized by written contract, with the judge before 54 whom the contract is acknowledged, such clergyman or magistrate may 55 solemnize such marriage, or such judge may take such acknowledgment as 56 the case may be, without waiting for such three day period and twenty-A. 5524--B 6 1 four hour period to elapse. The clergyman, magistrate or judge must file 2 such order with the town or city clerk who issued the license within 3 five days after the marriage is solemnized. Such town or city clerk 4 must record and index the order in the book required to be kept by him 5 or her for recording affidavits, statements, consents and licenses, and 6 when so recorded the order shall become a public record and available in 7 any prosecution under this section. A person who shall solemnize a 8 marriage in violation of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor 9 and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of fifty dollars 10 for each offense, and in addition thereto, his or her right to solemnize 11 a marriage shall be suspended for ninety days. 12 § 3. Section 15-a of the domestic relations law, as amended by chapter 13 126 of the laws of 1984, is amended to read as follows: 14 § 15-a. Marriages of minors under [fourteen] seventeen years of age. 15 Any marriage in which either party is under the age of [fourteen] seven- 16 teen years is hereby prohibited. Any town or city clerk who shall know- 17 ingly issue a marriage license to any persons, one or both of whom shall 18 be at the time of their contemplated marriage actually under the age of 19 [fourteen] seventeen years, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and on 20 conviction thereof shall be fined in the sum of one hundred dollars. 21 § 4. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall 22 have become a law and shall apply to licenses issued on and after such 23 effective date and to marriages that have not been solemnized prior to 24 such effective date.