Minnesota Legislature
Office of the Revisor of Statutes
Minnesota Session Laws - 2004, Regular Session
Key: (1) language to be deleted (2) new language
CHAPTER 273-H.F.No. 2642
An act relating to family law; providing for the
Minnesota Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood
Initiative; requiring certain parent education
programs; requiring a notice; requiring a report;
appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2002,
sections 517.07; 517.08, by adding a subdivision;
517.10; 517.13; 517.18, subdivision 1; 518.091;
518.157, subdivision 3; Minnesota Statutes 2003
Supplement, sections 517.08, subdivisions 1b, 1c;
proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes,
chapters 256; 517.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1. [256.742] [MINNESOTA HEALTHY MARRIAGE AND
RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD INITIATIVE.]
Subdivision 1. [ESTABLISHMENT.] Within the limits of
available appropriations, the commissioner shall develop and
implement a Minnesota Healthy Marriage and Responsible
Fatherhood Initiative, as provided for in this section. The
commissioner may administer the initiative with federal grants,
state appropriations, and in-kind services received for this
purpose.
Subd. 2. [PURPOSE.] The purpose of the Healthy Marriage
and Responsible Fatherhood Initiative is to develop a
community-based collaborative project that will test and
evaluate a comprehensive strategy for promoting marriage and
responsible fatherhood among unmarried urban parents who are
expecting or have recently had a child. The initiative
objectives are to:
(1) encourage stable family formation among unmarried new
parents in urban communities;
(2) promote healthy marriages among unmarried new parents
who want to be a couple and indicate that marriage is a goal for
their relationship;
(3) increase paternity establishment and enhance related
child support performance indicators;
(4) promote responsible fathering;
(5) enhance the well-being of children; and
(6) encourage and facilitate community support for marriage
and family formation among unmarried parents.
Subd. 3. [IMPLEMENTATION.] The target population for the
initiative is unmarried new parent couples whose babies are born
in urban hospitals in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The initiative
must not include couples with a history of domestic violence.
In cases involving alcohol or substance abuse by either
participant, the initiative must include the provision of
resources and services to remedy those issues. The initiative
may be implemented through the University of Minnesota and
community-based programs and organizations. The commissioner
shall:
(1) enter into contracts or manage a grant process for
implementation of the initiative;
(2) provide technical assistance; and
(3) develop and implement an evaluation component for the
initiative.
Sec. 2. [517.001] [DEFINITION.]
As used in this chapter, "local registrar" has the meaning
given in section 144.212, subdivision 10.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 517.07, is
amended to read:
517.07 [LICENSE.]
Before any persons are joined in marriage, a license shall
be obtained from the court administrator of the district court
local registrar of any county. The marriage need not take place
in the county where the license is obtained.
Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, section
517.08, subdivision 1b, is amended to read:
Subd. 1b. [TERM OF LICENSE; FEE; PREMARITAL EDUCATION.]
(a) The court administrator local registrar shall examine upon
oath the party applying for a license relative to the legality
of the contemplated marriage. If at the expiration of a
five-day period, on being satisfied that there is no legal
impediment to it, including the restriction contained in section
259.13, the court administrator local registrar shall issue the
license, containing the full names of the parties before and
after marriage, and county and state of residence, with the
district court county seal attached, and make a record of the
date of issuance. The license shall be valid for a period of
six months. In case of emergency or extraordinary
circumstances, a judge of the district court of the county in
which the application is made, may authorize the license to be
issued at any time before the expiration of the five days.
Except as provided in paragraph (b), the court administrator
local registrar shall collect from the applicant a fee of
$80 $85 for administering the oath, issuing, recording, and
filing all papers required, and preparing and transmitting to
the state registrar of vital statistics the reports of marriage
required by this section. If the license should not be used
within the period of six months due to illness or other
extenuating circumstances, it may be surrendered to the court
administrator local registrar for cancellation, and in that case
a new license shall issue upon request of the parties of the
original license without fee. A court administrator local
registrar who knowingly issues or signs a marriage license in
any manner other than as provided in this section shall pay to
the parties aggrieved an amount not to exceed $1,000.
(b) The marriage license fee for parties who have completed
at least 12 hours of premarital education is $20. In order to
qualify for the reduced fee, the parties must submit a signed
and dated statement from the person who provided the premarital
education confirming that it was received. The premarital
education must be provided by a licensed or ordained minister or
the minister's designee, a person authorized to solemnize
marriages under section 517.18, or a person authorized to
practice marriage and family therapy under section 148B.33. The
education must include the use of a premarital inventory and the
teaching of communication and conflict management skills.
(c) The statement from the person who provided the
premarital education under paragraph (b) must be in the
following form:
"I, (name of educator), confirm that (names of both
parties) received at least 12 hours of premarital education that
included the use of a premarital inventory and the teaching of
communication and conflict management skills. I am a licensed
or ordained minister, a person authorized to solemnize marriages
under Minnesota Statutes, section 517.18, or a person licensed
to practice marriage and family therapy under Minnesota
Statutes, section 148B.33."
The names of the parties in the educator's statement must
be identical to the legal names of the parties as they appear in
the marriage license application. Notwithstanding section
138.17, the educator's statement must be retained for seven
years, after which time it may be destroyed.
(d) If section 259.13 applies to the request for a marriage
license, the court administrator local registrar shall grant the
marriage license without the requested name change.
Alternatively, the court administrator local registrar may delay
the granting of the marriage license until the party with the
conviction:
(1) certifies under oath that 30 days have passed since
service of the notice for a name change upon the prosecuting
authority and, if applicable, the attorney general and no
objection has been filed under section 259.13; or
(2) provides a certified copy of the court order granting
it. The parties seeking the marriage license shall have the
right to choose to have the license granted without the name
change or to delay its granting pending further action on the
name change request.
Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, section
517.08, subdivision 1c, is amended to read:
Subd. 1c. [DISPOSITION OF LICENSE FEE.] (a) Of the
marriage license fee collected pursuant to subdivision 1b,
paragraph (a), $15 must be retained by the county. The court
administrator local registrar must pay $65 $70 to the
commissioner of finance to be deposited as follows:
(1) $50 in the general fund;
(2) $3 in the special revenue fund to be appropriated to
the commissioner of education for parenting time centers under
section 119A.37;
(3) $2 in the special revenue fund to be appropriated to
the commissioner of health for developing and implementing the
MN ENABL program under section 145.9255; and
(4) $10 in the special revenue fund to be appropriated to
the commissioner of economic security for the displaced
homemaker program under section 268.96; and
(5) $5 in the special revenue fund to be appropriated to
the commissioner of human services for the Minnesota Healthy
Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood Initiative under section
256.742.
(b) Of the $20 fee under subdivision 1b, paragraph (b), $15
must be retained by the county. The state court administrator
local registrar must pay $5 to the commissioner of finance to be
distributed as provided in paragraph (a), clauses (2) and (3).
(c) The increase in the marriage license fee under
paragraph (a) provided for in this act and disbursement of the
increase in that fee to the special fund for the Minnesota
Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood Initiative under
paragraph (a), clause (5), is contingent upon the receipt of
federal funding under United States Code, title 42, section
1315, for purposes of the initiative.
Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 517.08, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 4. [REPORT.] The local registrar of each county
shall annually report to the Department of Health the number of
marriage licenses issued in the county for which the fee in
subdivision 1b, paragraph (a), was paid and the number for which
the fee in subdivision 1b, paragraph (b), was paid.
Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 517.10, is
amended to read:
517.10 [CERTIFICATE; WITNESSES.]
The person solemnizing a marriage shall prepare and sign
three certificates thereof. Each certificate shall contain the
full names before and after marriage and county and state of
residences of the parties and the date and place of the
marriage. Each certificate shall also contain the signatures of
at least two of the witnesses present at the marriage who shall
be at least 16 years of age. The person solemnizing the
marriage shall give each of the parties one such certificate,
and shall immediately make a record of such marriage, and file
one such certificate with the court administrator local
registrar of the district court of the county in which the
license was issued within five days after the ceremony.
The court administrator local registrar shall record such
certificate in a book kept for that purpose.
Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 517.13, is
amended to read:
517.13 [PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO DELIVER AND FILE
CERTIFICATE.]
Every person solemnizing a marriage who neglects to deliver
to the court administrator local registrar a certificate within
the time set forth in section 517.10 shall forfeit a sum not
exceeding $100, and every court administrator local registrar
who neglects to record a certificate shall forfeit a like sum.
Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 517.18,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. All marriages solemnized among the people
called Friends or Quakers, in the form heretofore practiced and
in use in their meetings, shall be valid and not affected by any
of the foregoing provisions. The clerk of the meeting in which
such marriage is solemnized, within one month after any such
marriage, shall deliver a certificate of the same to the court
administrator of the district court local registrar of the
county where the marriage took place, under penalty of not more
than $100. Such certificate shall be filed and recorded by the
court administrator under a like penalty. If such marriage does
not take place in such meeting, such certificate shall be signed
by the parties and at least six witnesses present, and shall be
filed and recorded as above provided under a like penalty.
Sec. 10. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 518.091, is
amended to read:
518.091 [SUMMONS; TEMPORARY RESTRAINING PROVISIONS; NOTICE
REGARDING PARENT EDUCATION PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.]
Subdivision 1. [TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDERS.] (a) Every
summons must include the notice in this paragraph subdivision.
NOTICE OF TEMPORARY RESTRAINING AND ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE
RESOLUTION PROVISIONS
UNDER MINNESOTA LAW, SERVICE OF THIS SUMMONS MAKES THE
FOLLOWING REQUIREMENTS APPLY TO BOTH PARTIES TO THIS ACTION,
UNLESS THEY ARE MODIFIED BY THE COURT OR THE PROCEEDING IS
DISMISSED:
(1) NEITHER PARTY MAY DISPOSE OF ANY ASSETS EXCEPT (i) FOR
THE NECESSITIES OF LIFE OR FOR THE NECESSARY GENERATION OF
INCOME OR PRESERVATION OF ASSETS, (ii) BY AN AGREEMENT IN
WRITING, OR (iii) FOR RETAINING COUNSEL TO CARRY ON OR TO
CONTEST THIS PROCEEDING;
(2) NEITHER PARTY MAY HARASS THE OTHER PARTY; AND
(3) ALL CURRENTLY AVAILABLE INSURANCE COVERAGE MUST BE
MAINTAINED AND CONTINUED WITHOUT CHANGE IN COVERAGE OR
BENEFICIARY DESIGNATION.
IF YOU VIOLATE ANY OF THESE PROVISIONS, YOU WILL BE SUBJECT
TO SANCTIONS BY THE COURT.
(4) PARTIES TO A MARRIAGE DISSOLUTION PROCEEDING ARE
ENCOURAGED TO ATTEMPT ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION PURSUANT TO
MINNESOTA LAW. ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION INCLUDES
MEDIATION, ARBITRATION, AND OTHER PROCESSES AS SET FORTH IN THE
DISTRICT COURT RULES. YOU MAY CONTACT THE COURT ADMINISTRATOR
ABOUT RESOURCES IN YOUR AREA. IF YOU CANNOT PAY FOR MEDIATION
OR ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION, IN SOME COUNTIES, ASSISTANCE
MAY BE AVAILABLE TO YOU THROUGH A NONPROFIT PROVIDER OR A COURT
PROGRAM. IF YOU ARE A VICTIM OF DOMESTIC ABUSE OR THREATS OF
ABUSE AS DEFINED IN MINNESOTA STATUTES, CHAPTER 518B, YOU ARE
NOT REQUIRED TO TRY MEDIATION AND YOU WILL NOT BE PENALIZED BY
THE COURT IN LATER PROCEEDINGS.
(b) Upon service of the summons, the restraining provisions
contained in the notice apply by operation of law upon both
parties until modified by further order of the court or
dismissal of the proceeding, unless more than one year has
passed since the last document was filed with the court.
Subd. 2. [PARENT EDUCATION PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.] Every
summons involving custody or parenting time of a minor child
must include the notice in this subdivision.
NOTICE OF PARENT EDUCATION PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
UNDER MINNESOTA STATUTES, SECTION 518.157, IN A CONTESTED
PROCEEDING INVOLVING CUSTODY OR PARENTING TIME OF A MINOR CHILD,
THE PARTIES MUST BEGIN PARTICIPATION IN A PARENT EDUCATION
PROGRAM THAT MEETS MINIMUM STANDARDS PROMULGATED BY THE
MINNESOTA SUPREME COURT WITHIN 30 DAYS AFTER THE FIRST FILING
WITH THE COURT. IN SOME DISTRICTS, PARENTING EDUCATION MAY BE
REQUIRED IN ALL CUSTODY OR PARENTING PROCEEDINGS. YOU MAY
CONTACT THE DISTRICT COURT ADMINISTRATOR FOR ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION REGARDING THIS REQUIREMENT AND THE AVAILABILITY OF
PARENT EDUCATION PROGRAMS.
Sec. 11. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 518.157,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. [ATTENDANCE.] In a proceeding under this chapter
or sections 257.51 to 257.75 where custody or parenting time is
contested, the parents of a minor child shall attend a minimum
of eight hours in an orientation and education program that
meets the minimum standards promulgated by the Minnesota Supreme
Court. In all other proceedings involving custody, support, or
parenting time the court may order the parents of a minor child
to attend a parent education program. The program shall provide
the court with names of persons who fail to attend the parent
education program as ordered by the court. Persons who are
separated or contemplating involvement in a dissolution,
paternity, custody, or parenting time proceeding may attend a
parent education program without a court order. Unless
otherwise ordered by the court, participation in a parent
education program must occur as early as possible begin within
30 days after the first filing with the court or as soon as
practicable after that time based on the reasonable availability
of classes for the program for the parent. Parent education
programs must offer an opportunity to participate at all phases
of a pending or postdecree proceeding. Upon request of a party
and a showing of good cause, the court may excuse the party from
attending the program. If past or present domestic abuse, as
defined in chapter 518B, is alleged, the court shall not require
the parties to attend the same parent education sessions and
shall enter an order setting forth the manner in which the
parties may safely participate in the program.
Sec. 12. [APPROPRIATION.]
$100,000 is appropriated in fiscal year 2005 from the
general fund to the commissioner of human services for the
Minnesota Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood Initiative
under Minnesota Statutes, section 517.08, subdivision 1c,
paragraph (a), clause (5). The first $100,000 collected under
Minnesota Statutes, section 517.08, subdivision 1c, paragraph
(a), clause (5), must be deposited in the general fund.
Sec. 13. [EFFECTIVE DATE.]
This act is effective July 1, 2004.
Presented to the governor May 18, 2004
Signed by the governor May 29, 2004, 9:45 a.m.
Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes