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Key: (1) language to be deleted (2) new language

CHAPTER 74--H.F.No. 1054

An act

relating to marriage; providing for civil marriage between two persons; providing for exemptions and protections based on religious association;

amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, sections 363A.26; 517.01; 517.03, subdivision 1; 517.08, subdivision 1a; 517.09; 518.07; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 517.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 363A.26, is amended to read:

363A.26 EXEMPTION BASED ON RELIGIOUS ASSOCIATION.

Nothing in this chapter prohibits any religious association, religious corporation, or religious society that is not organized for private profit, or any institution organized for educational purposes that is operated, supervised, or controlled by a religious association, religious corporation, or religious society that is not organized for private profit, from:

(1) limiting admission to or giving preference to persons of the same religion or denomination; deleted text begin ordeleted text end

(2) in matters relating to sexual orientation, taking any action with respect to education, employment, housing and real property, or use of facilities. This clause shall not apply to secular business activities engaged in by the religious association, religious corporation, or religious society, the conduct of which is unrelated to the religious and educational purposes for which it is organizeddeleted text begin .deleted text end new text begin ; ornew text end

new text begin (3) taking any action with respect to the provision of goods, services, facilities, or accommodations directly related to the solemnization or celebration of a civil marriage that is in violation of its religious beliefs. new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 517.01, is amended to read:

517.01 deleted text begin MARRIAGE A CIVILdeleted text end new text begin CIVIL MARRIAGEnew text end CONTRACT.

new text begin A civilnew text end marriage, so far as its validity in law is concerned, is a civil contract between deleted text begin a man and a womandeleted text end new text begin two personsnew text end , to which the consent of the parties, capable in law of contracting, is essential. deleted text begin Lawfuldeleted text end new text begin A lawful civilnew text end marriage may be contracted deleted text begin only between persons of the opposite sex anddeleted text end only when a license has been obtained as provided by law and when the new text begin civilnew text end marriage is contracted in the presence of two witnesses and solemnized by one authorized, or whom one or both of the parties in good faith believe to be authorized, so to do. Marriages subsequent to April 26, 1941, not so contracted shall be null and void.

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 517.03, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

General.

deleted text begin (a)deleted text end The following marriages are prohibited:

(1) a marriage entered into before the dissolution of an earlier marriage of one of the parties becomes final, as provided in section 518.145 or by the law of the jurisdiction where the dissolution was granted;

(2) a marriage between an ancestor and a descendant, or between deleted text begin a brother and a sisterdeleted text end new text begin siblingsnew text end , whether the relationship is by the half or the whole blood or by adoption;new text begin andnew text end

(3) a marriage between an uncle deleted text begin and a niece, between andeleted text end new text begin or new text end aunt and a new text begin niece or new text end nephew, or between first cousins, whether the relationship is by the half or the whole blood, except as to marriages permitted by the established customs of aboriginal culturesdeleted text begin ; anddeleted text end new text begin .new text end

deleted text begin (4) a marriage between persons of the same sex. deleted text end

deleted text begin (b) A marriage entered into by persons of the same sex, either under common law or statute, that is recognized by another state or foreign jurisdiction is void in this state and contractual rights granted by virtue of the marriage or its termination are unenforceable in this state. deleted text end

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 517.08, subdivision 1a, is amended to read:

Subd. 1a.

Form.

Application for a new text begin civilnew text end marriage license shall be made by both of the parties upon a form provided for the purpose and shall contain the following information:

(1) the full names of the parties and the sex of each party;

(2) their post office addresses and county and state of residence;

(3) their full ages;

(4) if either party has previously been married, the party's married name, and the date, place and court in which the marriage was dissolved or annulled or the date and place of death of the former spouse;

(5) if either party is a minor, the name and address of the minor's parents or guardian;

(6) whether the parties are related to each other, and, if so, their relationship;

(7) new text begin thenew text end address of the deleted text begin bride and groomdeleted text end new text begin parties new text end after the deleted text begin marriagedeleted text end new text begin civil marriage is entered intonew text end to which the local registrar shall send a certified copy of the new text begin civilnew text end marriage certificate;

(8) the full names the parties will have after deleted text begin marriagedeleted text end new text begin the civil marriage is entered intonew text end and the parties' Social Security numbers. The Social Security numbers must be collected for the application but must not appear on the new text begin civil new text end marriage license. If a party listed on a new text begin civil new text end marriage application does not have a Social Security number, the party must certify on the application, or a supplement to the application, that the party does not have a Social Security number;

(9) if one or both of the parties to the new text begin civilnew text end marriage license has a felony conviction under Minnesota law or the law of another state or federal jurisdiction, the parties shall provide to the county proof of service upon the prosecuting authority and, if applicable, the attorney general, as required by section 259.13; and

(10) notice that a party who has a felony conviction under Minnesota law or the law of another state or federal jurisdiction may not use a different name after new text begin a civilnew text end marriage except as authorized by section 259.13, and that doing so is a gross misdemeanor.

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 517.09, is amended to read:

517.09 SOLEMNIZATION.

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin General. new text end

No particular form is required to solemnize a new text begin civilnew text end marriage, except: the parties shall declare in the presence of a person authorized to solemnize new text begin civilnew text end marriages and two attending witnesses that deleted text begin they takedeleted text end each new text begin takes the new text end other as husband deleted text begin anddeleted text end new text begin ,new text end wifenew text begin , or spousenew text end ; or the new text begin civilnew text end marriage shall be solemnized in a manner provided by section 517.18.

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Refusal to solemnize; protection of religious doctrine. new text end

new text begin Each religious organization, association, or society has exclusive control over its own theological doctrine, policy, teachings, and beliefs regarding who may marry within that faith. A licensed or ordained member of the clergy or other person authorized by section 517.04 to solemnize a civil marriage is not subject to any fine, penalty, or civil liability for failing or refusing to solemnize a civil marriage for any reason. new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Refusal to participate or support solemnization; protection of religious belief. new text end

new text begin (a) Except for secular business activities engaged in by a religious association, religious corporation, or religious society, the conduct of which is unrelated to the religious and educational purposes for which it is organized, no religious association, religious corporation, or religious society shall be required to provide goods or services at the solemnization or celebration of any civil marriage or be subject to civil liability or any action by the state that penalizes, fines, or withholds any benefit to the religious association, religious corporation, or religious society under the laws of this state, including, but not limited to, laws regarding tax exempt status, for failing or refusing to provide goods or services at the solemnization or celebration of any civil marriage, if providing such goods or services would cause the religious association, religious corporation, or religious society to violate their sincerely held religious beliefs. new text end

new text begin (b) The exception in paragraph (a) applies to employees, agents, and volunteers acting within the capacity of their employment or responsibilities with a religious association, religious corporation, or religious society. new text end

Sec. 6.

new text begin [517.201] RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW; RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Religious freedom; Human Rights Act. new text end

new text begin (a) This chapter does not alter or affect the protections or exemptions provided in chapter 363A for a religious association, educational institution, business, labor organization, place of public accommodation, employer, or other person. new text end

new text begin (b) This chapter must not be construed to affect the manner in which a religious association, religious corporation, or religious society that is not organized for private profit, or an institution organized for educational purposes that is operated, supervised, or controlled by a religious association, religious corporation, or religious society that is not organized for private profit, provides adoption, foster care, or social services, if that association, corporation, society, or educational institution does not receive public funds for that specific program or purpose. new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Rules of construction. new text end

new text begin When necessary to implement the rights and responsibilities of spouses or parents in a civil marriage between persons of the same sex under the laws of this state, including those that establish parentage presumptions based on a civil marriage, gender-specific terminology, such as "husband," "wife," "mother," "father," "widow," "widower," or similar terms, must be construed in a neutral manner to refer to a person of either gender. new text end

Sec. 7.

new text begin [517.23] MEANING OF CIVIL MARRIAGE. new text end

new text begin Wherever the term "marriage," "marital," "marry," or "married" is used in Minnesota statute in reference to the rights, obligations, or privileges of a couple under law, the term includes civil marriage, or individuals subject to civil marriage, as established by this chapter. A term subject to this definition must also be interpreted in reference to the context in which it appears, but may not be interpreted to limit or exclude any individual who has entered into a valid civil marriage contract under this chapter. new text end

Sec. 8.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 518.07, is amended to read:

518.07 RESIDENCE OF PARTIES.

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin General. new text end

new text begin Except as provided in subdivision 2, new text end no dissolution shall be granted unlessnew text begin :new text end

(1) one of the parties has resided in this state, or has been a member of the armed services stationed in this state, for not less than 180 days immediately preceding the commencement of the proceeding; or

(2) one of the parties has been a domiciliary of this state for not less than 180 days immediately preceding commencement of the proceeding.

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Action for dissolution by certain nonresidents. new text end

new text begin (a) If neither party to the civil marriage is a resident of this state at the commencement of the proceeding, a court of this state has jurisdiction over the dissolution if: new text end

new text begin (1) the civil marriage was performed in this state; and new text end

new text begin (2) neither party to the civil marriage resides in a jurisdiction that will maintain an action for dissolution by the parties because of the sex or sexual orientation of the spouses. new text end

new text begin (b) There is a rebuttable presumption that a jurisdiction will not maintain an action for dissolution if the jurisdiction does not recognize the civil marriage. new text end

new text begin (c) An action for dissolution authorized by this subdivision must be adjudicated in accordance with the laws of this state. new text end

Sec. 9.

new text begin REVISOR'S INSTRUCTION. new text end

new text begin The revisor of statutes shall change the terms "marriage" and "marriages" to either "civil marriage" or "civil marriages" wherever they appear in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 517, unless the context or any provision of this act indicates otherwise. The revisor shall also make grammatical changes related to the changes in terms. new text end

Presented to the governor May 13, 2013

Signed by the governor May 14, 2013, 5:14 p.m.

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes