1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to crime prevention; requiring certain felons 
  1.3             to provide prosecuting authorities with notice of a 
  1.4             name change request; allowing prosecuting attorneys to 
  1.5             challenge certain name change requests; requiring 
  1.6             certain felons who seek a marriage license to provide 
  1.7             proof of service of compliance with the name change 
  1.8             law; placing conditions on issuance of name changes as 
  1.9             part of marriage licenses and marriage dissolutions; 
  1.10            amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 517.08, 
  1.11            subdivisions 1a and 1b; and 518.27; proposing coding 
  1.12            for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 259. 
  1.13  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.14     Section 1.  [259.13] [CONVICTED FELONS; NAME CHANGES.] 
  1.15     Subdivision 1.  [PROCEDURE FOR SEEKING NAME CHANGE.] A 
  1.16  person convicted of a felony under Minnesota law or the law of 
  1.17  some other state or federal jurisdiction whose civil rights have 
  1.18  not yet been restored must serve a notice of application for a 
  1.19  name change on the prosecuting authority that obtained the 
  1.20  felony conviction against the person when seeking a name change 
  1.21  through one of the following procedures: 
  1.22     (1) an application for a name change under section 259.10; 
  1.23     (2) a request for a name change as part of an application 
  1.24  for a marriage license under section 517.08; or 
  1.25     (3) a request for a name change in conjunction with a 
  1.26  marriage dissolution under section 518.27. 
  1.27  A person who seeks a name change under section 259.10 or 518.27 
  1.28  must file proof of service with the court as part of the name 
  1.29  change request.  A person who seeks a name change under section 
  2.1   517.08 must file proof of service with the county as part of the 
  2.2   application for a marriage license.  The name change request may 
  2.3   not be granted during the 30-day period provided for in 
  2.4   subdivision 2 or, if an objection is filed under subdivision 2, 
  2.5   until satisfaction of the requirements in subdivision 3 or 4.  
  2.6   Nothing in this section shall delay the granting of a marriage 
  2.7   license under section 517.08, which may be granted without the 
  2.8   name change. 
  2.9      Subd. 2.  [OBJECTION BY PROSECUTING AUTHORITY.] At any time 
  2.10  within 30 days from the date of service of the notice of 
  2.11  application for a name change under this section, the 
  2.12  prosecuting authority may file an objection to the application 
  2.13  for a name change with the district court.  The prosecuting 
  2.14  authority may object to the name change request on the basis 
  2.15  that the request aims to defraud or mislead, is not made in good 
  2.16  faith, will cause injury to a person, or will compromise public 
  2.17  safety.  If the prosecuting authority files an objection to the 
  2.18  application for a name change within this time period, the court 
  2.19  shall not grant the name change request, and the county shall 
  2.20  not allow the name change as part of a marriage license. 
  2.21     Subd. 3.  [MOTION TO GRANT NAME CHANGE REQUEST.] A person 
  2.22  who seeks a name change may contest the prosecuting authority's 
  2.23  objection by filing a motion with the court in the county of the 
  2.24  prosecuting authority for an order permitting the requested name 
  2.25  change.  Except as provided in subdivision 4, no name change 
  2.26  shall be granted unless the person requesting the name change 
  2.27  proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the name change 
  2.28  request is not based upon an intent to defraud or mislead, is 
  2.29  made in good faith, will not cause injury to a person, and will 
  2.30  not compromise public safety. 
  2.31     Subd. 4.  [CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO NAME CHANGE.] The court 
  2.32  must grant a name change if failure to allow it would infringe 
  2.33  on a constitutional right of the person. 
  2.34     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 517.08, 
  2.35  subdivision 1a, is amended to read: 
  2.36     Subd. 1a.  Application for a marriage license shall be made 
  3.1   upon a form provided for the purpose and shall contain the 
  3.2   following information: 
  3.3      (1) the full names of the parties and the sex of each 
  3.4   party; 
  3.5      (2) their post office addresses and county and state of 
  3.6   residence; 
  3.7      (3) their full ages; 
  3.8      (4) if either party has previously been married, the 
  3.9   party's married name, and the date, place and court in which the 
  3.10  marriage was dissolved or annulled or the date and place of 
  3.11  death of the former spouse; 
  3.12     (5) if either party is a minor, the name and address of the 
  3.13  minor's parents or guardian; 
  3.14     (6) whether the parties are related to each other, and, if 
  3.15  so, their relationship; 
  3.16     (7) the name and date of birth of any child of which both 
  3.17  parties are parents, born before the making of the application, 
  3.18  unless their parental rights and the parent and child 
  3.19  relationship with respect to the child have been terminated; 
  3.20     (8) address of the bride and groom after the marriage to 
  3.21  which the court administrator shall send a certified copy of the 
  3.22  marriage certificate; and 
  3.23     (9) the full names the parties will have after marriage and 
  3.24  the parties' social security numbers.  The social security 
  3.25  numbers must be collected for the application but must not 
  3.26  appear on the marriage license; and 
  3.27     (10) if one or both of the parties to the marriage license 
  3.28  has been convicted of a felony as described in section 259.13 
  3.29  and the person's civil rights have not yet been restored, the 
  3.30  parties shall provide to the county proof of service upon the 
  3.31  prosecuting authority, as required by section 259.13. 
  3.32     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 517.08, 
  3.33  subdivision 1b, is amended to read: 
  3.34     Subd. 1b.  [TERM OF LICENSE; FEE.] (a) The court 
  3.35  administrator shall examine upon oath the party applying for a 
  3.36  license relative to the legality of the contemplated marriage.  
  4.1   If at the expiration of a five-day period, on being satisfied 
  4.2   that there is no legal impediment to it, including the 
  4.3   restriction contained in section 259.13, the court administrator 
  4.4   shall issue the license, containing the full names of the 
  4.5   parties before and after marriage, and county and state of 
  4.6   residence, with the district court seal attached, and make a 
  4.7   record of the date of issuance.  The license shall be valid for 
  4.8   a period of six months.  In case of emergency or extraordinary 
  4.9   circumstances, a judge of the district court of the county in 
  4.10  which the application is made, may authorize the license to be 
  4.11  issued at any time before the expiration of the five days.  The 
  4.12  court administrator shall collect from the applicant a fee of 
  4.13  $70 for administering the oath, issuing, recording, and filing 
  4.14  all papers required, and preparing and transmitting to the state 
  4.15  registrar of vital statistics the reports of marriage required 
  4.16  by this section.  If the license should not be used within the 
  4.17  period of six months due to illness or other extenuating 
  4.18  circumstances, it may be surrendered to the court administrator 
  4.19  for cancellation, and in that case a new license shall issue 
  4.20  upon request of the parties of the original license without 
  4.21  fee.  A court administrator who knowingly issues or signs a 
  4.22  marriage license in any manner other than as provided in this 
  4.23  section shall pay to the parties aggrieved an amount not to 
  4.24  exceed $1,000. 
  4.25     (b) If section 259.13 applies to the request for a marriage 
  4.26  license, the court administrator shall grant the marriage 
  4.27  license without the requested name change.  Alternatively, the 
  4.28  court administrator may delay the granting of the marriage 
  4.29  license until the party with the felony conviction certifies 
  4.30  under oath that 30 days have passed since service of the notice 
  4.31  for a name change upon the prosecuting authority and no 
  4.32  objection has been filed under section 259.13, or until the 
  4.33  party seeking the name change provides a certified copy of the 
  4.34  court order granting the name change.  The parties seeking the 
  4.35  marriage license shall have the right to choose to have the 
  4.36  license granted without the name change or to delay the granting 
  5.1   of the license pending further action on the name change request.
  5.2      Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 518.27, is 
  5.3   amended to read: 
  5.4      518.27 [NAME OF PARTY.] 
  5.5      Except as provided in section 259.13, in the final decree 
  5.6   of dissolution or legal separation the court shall, if requested 
  5.7   by a party, change the name of that party to another name as the 
  5.8   party requests.  The court shall grant a request unless it finds 
  5.9   that there is an intent to defraud or mislead, unless the name 
  5.10  change is subject to section 259.13, in which case the 
  5.11  requirements of that section apply.  The party's new name shall 
  5.12  be so designated in the final decree.  
  5.13     Sec. 5.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  5.14     Sections 1 to 4 are effective August 1, 2000, and apply to 
  5.15  proceedings for a name change commenced on or after that date.