Senate Bill S6808

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  6808

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            February 24, 2016
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen. LATIMER -- 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  waiving  the
  fee for marriage licenses for active duty members of the armed forces

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 14-a  of  the  domestic  relations
law,  as  amended by chapter 297 of the laws of 1963, is amended to read
as follows:
  3. A. No fee shall be charged for any certificate when required by the
veterans administration or by the division of veterans' affairs  of  the
state  of  New  York  to  be  used in determining the eligibility of any
person to participate in the benefits made  available  by  the  veterans
administration or by the state of New York.
  B.  A  TOWN  OR CITY MAY ELECT TO WAIVE THE FEE FOR A CERTIFICATE WHEN
EITHER OF THE PARTIES MAKING  APPLICATION  FOR  SUCH  CERTIFICATE  IS  A
MEMBER OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES ON ACTIVE DUTY.
  S  2.  Subdivision  3  of section 15 of the domestic relations law, as
amended by section 5 of part W-2 of chapter 62 of the laws of  2003,  is
amended to read as follows:
  3.  If it shall appear upon an application for a marriage license that
either party is under the age of sixteen years, the town or  city  clerk
shall require, in addition to any consents provided for in this section,
the written approval and consent of a justice of the supreme court or of
a  judge  of the family court, having jurisdiction over the town or city
in which the application is made, to be attached to or endorsed upon the
application, before the license is  issued.  The  application  for  such
approval and consent shall be heard by the judge at chambers. All papers
and  records  pertaining  to any such application shall be sealed by him
and withheld from inspection, except by order of a  court  of  competent
jurisdiction.  Before issuing any licenses herein provided for, the town
or city clerk shall be entitled to a fee of thirty  dollars,  which  sum
shall  be  paid  by  the applicants before or at the time the license is
issued; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT A TOWN OR CITY MAY ELECT TO  WAIVE  SUCH

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

                                                           LBD14210-02-6

S. 6808                             2

FEE  WHEN EITHER OF THE PARTIES APPLYING FOR SUCH LICENSE IS A MEMBER OF
THE ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES ON ACTIVE DUTY.  Any town or  city
clerk who shall issue a license to marry any persons one or both of whom
shall  not  be  at  the  time of the marriage under such license legally
competent to marry without first requiring the parties to such  marriage
to  make  such  affidavits  and  statements or who shall not require the
production of documentary proof of age or the procuring of the  approval
and  consents  provided  for  by this article, which shall show that the
parties authorized by said license to be married are  legally  competent
to  marry,  shall  be  guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction thereof
shall be fined in the sum of one hundred  dollars  for  each  and  every
offense.  On  or  before  the fifteenth day of each month, each town and
city clerk, except in the city of New York, shall transmit to the  state
commissioner  of health twenty-two dollars and fifty cents of the amount
received for each fee collected, which shall  be  paid  into  the  vital
records  management  account as provided by section ninety-seven-cccc of
the state finance law; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT NO FEE SHALL BE COLLECTED
ON BEHALF OF OR PAID TO THE COMMISSIONER OF HEALTH WHEN  EITHER  OF  THE
PARTIES APPLYING FOR SUCH LICENSE IS A MEMBER OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE
UNITED  STATES  ON  ACTIVE  DUTY.    In any city the balance of all fees
collected for the issuing of a marriage license, or  for  solemnizing  a
marriage,  so  far  as collected for services rendered by any officer or
employee of such city, shall be paid monthly into the city treasury  and
may  by  ordinance  be credited to any fund therein designated, and said
ordinance, when duly enacted, shall have the force of law in such  city.
Notwithstanding  any  other provisions of this article, the clerk of any
city with the approval of the governing body  of  such  city  is  hereby
authorized  to designate, in writing filed in the city clerk's office, a
deputy clerk, if any, and/or other city  employees  in  such  office  to
receive  applications  for,  examine applications, investigate and issue
marriage licenses in the absence or inability of the clerk of said  city
to act, and said deputy and/or employees so designated are hereby vested
with all the powers and duties of said city clerk relative thereto. Such
deputy  and/or  employees  shall  perform said duties without additional
compensation.
  S 3. This act shall take effect immediately.