New marriage forms and process starts week
Alabama will require new forms— and a new process — for getting married beginning next week. The Alabama Department of Public Health issued guidance Tuesday about the new form and procedure. The Alabama Legislature this year voted to do away with marriage licenses to accommodate conservative probate judges who objected to same-sex marriage. Instead of a marriage license, couples will fill out a new form , have it notarized and then take it to the probate judge within 30 days. A wedding ceremony is no longer required, but a couple can still have one if they choose. The couple’s marriage date is the date that the affidavit on the Alabama Marriage Certificate form is signed by the two spouses, provided the notarized form is returned to the probate office within the required time frame. The change begins Friday, August, 29th. Ever since same-sex marriage became legal in Alabama, a few of the state’s 68 probate judges had refused to issue marriage licenses to anyone so they didn’t have to give them to gay couples. Alabama law says probate judges “may” issue marriage, but doesn’t force them to do so. Republican Sen. Greg Albritton proposed the change in state law. He said he believes it should accommodate probate judges’ concerns and allow people to get marriage documents everywhere. “There are many areas that are not conducting any marriages at all in the state. That puts a burden on those residents to travel somewhere else,” Albritton said. “I think it is going to allow all of Alabama to engage in matrimony. I think that is a very good thing,” Albritton said. Albritton pushed the change for several years before it was approved this legislative session. When the Alabama House of Representatives approved the change in May, Rep. Neil Rafferty, the only openly gay member of the House, said the change was “born out of prejudice.” “It accommodates a handful of judges that couldn’t get their personal feelings, couldn’t check those at the door and couldn’t do their jobs,” Rafferty, Democrat-Birmingham, told reporters in May. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Bill to eliminate marriage licenses passes Alabama Senate, moves to House
Marriage licenses may soon be a thing of the past in Alabama. Rather than getting a marriage license signed by a probate judge, Range-Republican state Sen. Greg Albritton has introduced a bill that would require couples to file a form and have a notarized affidavit with the probate judge in order to record their marriages. Senate Bill 20 was approved, 22-6, Tuesday night the Alabama Senate. It’s passage comes as few probate judges across the state continue to refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. “This bill would specify that the judge of probate would have no authority to reject any recording of a marriage, so long as the affidavits, forms, and data are provided,” Albritton’s bill reads. “This bill would provide that a religious, civil, or independent ceremony of marriage, or other officiation, or administration of marital vows may be conducted or engaged in by the parties. Instead of issuing marriage licenses, probate judges would be required to collect the following minimum information: (1) The full legal names of both of the parties. (2) A notarized affidavit from each party declaring all of the following: a. The affiant is not currently married. b. The affiant is at least 18 years of age; or 21 2. The affiant is at least 16 and under 18 years of 22 age and has the consent of a parent or guardian. c. The affiant is legally competent to enter into a marriage. d. The parties are not related by blood or adoption such that the marriage would violate Section 13A-13-3, Code of 27 Alabama 1975. e. The affiant is entering into the marriage voluntarily and of his or her own free will and not under duress or undue influence SB20 now moves to the Alabama House of Representatives for consideration. Similar legislation failed to win final approval in the past two legislative sessions.
Senate passes bill taking state out of marriage business
The Alabama Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would abolish the requirement that state probate judges sign off on marriages. To replace the age-old courthouse process, the bill would required a marriage contract to be signed under the witness of two adults. Those contracts would then be documented by the local probate judge. A marriage ceremony would not be required SB143 from Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Range) follows the U.S. Supreme Court ruling finding a ban on same-sex marriages unconstitutional. Some Alabama probate judges have already stopped issuing marriage licenses, claiming that in providing a marriage certificate to a same-sex couple they are violating their religious convictions. Albritton contends that the legislation will do away with such controversy. Some senators voiced concern over the bill, noting that it would add to the current confusion and make it more difficult for military personnel to navigate receipt of marriage entitlements. Rep. Patricia Todd (D-Birmingham), Alabama’s only openly gay lawmaker, opposed the legislation and advocated for county probate judges to do the job for which they were elected. With its passage in the Senate, the bill is now on its way to the House of Representatives.
Legislative session enters home stretch with no budget fix
Alabama lawmakers on Tuesday begin the home stretch of the legislative session with their biggest challenge still unsolved: a shortfall in the general fund budget. There are four legislative meeting days remaining and so far no consensus on how to handle a projected $200 million shortfall in next year’s general fund budget. Legislators have been unable to agree on tax increases or on a proposal to shift some money from the education budget to avoid cuts to key state agencies. “I think most are resigned to a special session,” Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Chairman Arthur Orr, a Republican of Decatur, said. The stalemate comes after months of negotiations by legislators on ways to fill the budget hole and warnings by Gov. Robert Bentley about the severe cuts to state services that will occur if they don’t. Lawmakers have rejected Bentley’s call for $541 million in new taxes. House GOP members temporarily backed a smaller $151 million tax increase but withdrew it after Senate leaders said GOP senators would oppose it. The session is expected to conclude next week, but by law must end by June 15. Here is a look at the status of other issues before lawmakers this session: Payday loans An effort to limit what payday lenders can charge on the short-term loans appears to be stalling again this legislative session. A House committee approved a bill that would give borrowers more time to repay a loan, taking the window from 14 days to six months. However, the bill has not gotten a vote on the House floor. Alabama Accountability Act Alabama lawmakers are close to making changes to a controversial school choice program that helps families pay for private school. A conference committee is considering the bill to expand the yearly cap on the tax credits that fuel the scholarships from $25 million to $30 million. It would also tighten income requirements on the scholarships and increase reporting requirements on the organizations that grant the scholarships. Abortion The bill that would ban abortion clinics within 2,000 feet of public K-12 schools has been approved by the House of Representatives but has not gotten a Senate vote. The bill would force a Huntsville abortion clinic, one of the state’s five abortion clinics, to move or close. Another House bill would ban abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which can happen as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, but has not gotten a floor vote. Marriage licenses/Gay marriage A bill, brought in response to the possibility of the U.S Supreme Court legalizing same-sex marriage, would get Alabama out of the marriage license business altogether. The bill would do away with current state marriage licenses issued by probate judges. Instead, couples would take a contract witnessed by a couple’s minister or attorney. The state Senate approved the bill but it has not gotten a House vote. Gambling A bill aimed at allowing a lottery and casinos in the state is dead for the session. The proposal did not get a floor vote in the Alabama Senate. In the final four days of the session, senators, under legislative rules, must unanimously agree to send approved Senate bills down to the House for consideration. The procedural hurdle dooms senators’ controversial bills in the final days of the session. Medical marijuana Like the gambling legislation, a Senate bill to allow the use of medicinal marijuana for certain illnesses and conditions, is also dead for the session because it did not get a Senate floor vote. The bill did get out of the Senate Judiciary Committee this year. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
