MARRIAGE: AGE OF CONSENT                                                 S.B. 1114-1123:

                                                                                         SUMMARY OF BILL

                                                                         REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE

Senate Bills 1114 through 1123 (as reported without amendment)  

Sponsor:  Senator Michael D. MacDonald (S.B. 1114, 1117, & 1123)

               Senator Sylvia Santana (S.B. 1115 & 1116)

               Senator Wayne Schmidt (S.B. 1118)

               Senator Rosemary Bayer (S.B. 1119)

               Senator Marshall Bullock (S.B. 1120)

               Senator Mark Huizenga (S.B. 1121)

               Senator Erika Geiss (S.B. 1122)

Committee:  Judiciary and Public Safety

CONTENT

Senate Bill 1114 would amend Public Act (PA) 352 of 1921, which prohibits the marriage of an individual under 16 years of age, to increase, from 16 years to 18 years, the minimum age for an individual to get married in Michigan, and to void any marriage entered into by an individual under 18 years of age.

Senate Bill 1115 would amend PA 128 of 1887, which requires parties to be married to obtain a marriage license and establishes the minimum age to contract into a marriage, to do the following:

-- Delete a provision allowing a person who was 16 years of age but less than 18 years of age to contract into a marriage with the written consent of one of his or her parents or legal guardian.

-- Modify the population requirement for a county that wished to impose a marriage license fee or nonresident marriage license fee different in amount than the license fees specified in the Act.

Senate Bill 1116 would amend PA 180 of 1897, which governs the issuance of marriage licenses and certificates without publicity, to delete provisions allowing an individual under marriageable age to consent to contract into a marriage with the written consent of his or her parents or legal guardian.

Senate Bill 1117 would amend PA 160 or 1919, which releases legally married minors from parental control and determines their marital rights and duties, to make various language and grammatical changes.

Senate Bill 1118 would amend the Estates and Protected Individuals Code (EPIC) to delete a provision allowing a guardian to consent to a minor ward's marriage and to amend the statutory will form to include the changes proposed in various bills in this package.  

Senate Bill 1119 would amend PA 293 of 1968, which, among other things, establishes the conditions for emancipation of minors, to delete provisions declaring a minor emancipated when he or she is married validly.

Senate Bill 1120 would amend the Revised Statutes 84 of 1846 (Of Divorce) to delete a provision prohibiting a marriage from being annulled when it appears that the parties, after they had attained the age of consent, had freely cohabited as husband and wife.

Senate Bill 1121 would amend Public Act 125 of 2001, which prescribes the rights and responsibilities of hotel and bed and breakfasts with respect to renting or leasing rooms to minors, to modify a provision allowing a hotel or bed and breakfast to require that an individual provide documentary evidence confirming the age of an individual renting or leasing a room or documentary evidence of the emancipation of a minor.

Senate Bill 1122 would amend the Safe Families for Children Act to prohibit a parent from authorizing to consent to the marriage of a child who was under the legal age of marriage.

Senate Bill 1123 would amend the Michigan Penal Code to modify various provisions to delete reference to spouses under age 16.

Senate Bills 1114 through 1117 are tie-barred, and each bill also is tie-barred to Senate Bill 1118. Senate Bills 1118 and 1123 are tie-barred to Senate Bill 1114.

MCL 555.51 (S.B. 1114)                         Legislative Analyst:  Stephen P. Jackson

       551.103 (S.B. 1115)

       551.201 (S.B. 1116)

       551.251 (S.B. 1117)

       700.2519 et al. (S.B. 1118)

       722.4 & 722.4e (S.B. 1119)

       552.34 (S.B. 1120)

       428.304 (S.B. 1121)

       722.1555 (S.B. 1122)

       750.13 et al. (S.B. 1123)

FISCAL IMPACT

Senate Bills 1114 through 1118 would not have a fiscal impact on State government. There could be some positive fiscal impact on county clerks or probate judges in the form of reduced costs, as the bills would eliminate procedures by which minors 16 or older may acquire a marriage license with parental consent in written form.

Senate Bills 1119 through 1123 would have no fiscal impact on State or local government.

Date Completed:  12-6-22                                 Fiscal Analyst:  Michael Siracuse

This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.