1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to civil law; providing for civil union relationships; substituting 
1.3 	civil union contracts for marriage for purposes of Minnesota law;amending 
1.4 	Minnesota Statutes 2008, sections 363A.27; 517.01; 517.02; 517.03; 517.07; 
1.5 	517.08; 517.10; 517.101; 517.20; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota 
1.6 	Statutes, chapter 517; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2008, sections 517.04; 
1.7 	517.041; 517.05; 517.06; 517.09; 517.13; 517.14; 517.15; 517.16; 517.18.
1.8 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.9 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 363A.27, is amended to read:
1.10 	363A.27 CONSTRUCTION OF LAW.
1.11 	Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to:
1.12 	(1) mean the state of Minnesota condones homosexuality or bisexuality or any 
1.13 	equivalent lifestyle;
1.14 	(2) authorize or permit the promotion of homosexuality or bisexuality in education 
1.15 	institutions or require the teaching in education institutions of homosexuality or 
1.16 	bisexuality as an acceptable lifestyle; or
1.17 	(3) authorize or permit the use of numerical goals or quotas, or other types 
1.18 	of affirmative action programs, with respect to homosexuality or bisexuality in the 
1.19 	administration or enforcement of the provisions of this chapter; or.
1.20 	(4) authorize the recognition of or the right of marriage between persons of the 
1.21 	same sex.

1.22 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 517.01, is amended to read:
1.23 	517.01 MARRIAGE A CIVIL UNION CONTRACT.
2.1 	Marriage A civil union, so far as its validity in law is concerned, is a civil contract 
2.2 	between a man and a woman two parties, recognized by the state of Minnesota, to which 
2.3 	the consent of the parties, capable in law of contracting, is essential. Lawful marriage 
2.4 	may be contracted only between persons of the opposite sex and onlyA civil union 
2.5 	contract is only valid when a license has been obtained as provided by law and when the 
2.6 	marriage civil union is contracted in the presence of two witnesses and solemnized by one 
2.7 	authorized, or whom one or both of the parties in good faith believe to be authorized, so to 
2.8 	do. Marriages subsequent to April 26, 1941, not so contracted shall be null and void.

2.9 	Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 517.02, is amended to read:
2.10 	517.02 PERSONS CAPABLE OF CONTRACTING.
2.11 	Every person who has attained the full age of 18 years is capable in law of 
2.12 	contracting marriage a civil union, if otherwise competent. A person of the full age of 16 
2.13 	years may, with the consent of the person's parents, guardian, or the court, as provided in 
2.14 	section 517.08, receive a civil union license to marry, when, after a careful inquiry into the 
2.15 	facts and the surrounding circumstances, the person's application for a license is approved 
2.16 	by the judge of the juvenile court of the county in which the person resides. If the judge 
2.17 	of juvenile court of the county in which the person resides is absent from the county and 
2.18 	has not by order assigned another judge or a retired judge to act in the judge's stead, then 
2.19 	the court commissioner or any judge of district court of the county may approve the 
2.20 	application for a license.  

2.21 	Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 517.03, is amended to read:
2.22 	517.03 PROHIBITED MARRIAGES AND CIVIL UNION CONTRACTS.
2.23 		Subdivision 1.General. (a) The following marriages and civil union contracts
2.24 	are prohibited:
2.25 	(1) a marriage or civil union contract entered into before the dissolution of an earlier 
2.26 	marriage or civil union contract of one of the parties becomes final, as provided in section 
2.27 	518.145 or by the law of the jurisdiction where the dissolution was granted; 
2.28 	(2) a marriage or civil union contract between an ancestor and a descendant, or 
2.29 	between a brother and a sister, whether the relationship is by the half or the whole blood 
2.30 	or by adoption; and
2.31 	(3) a marriage or civil union contract between an uncle and a niece, between an aunt 
2.32 	and a nephew, or between first cousins, whether the relationship is by the half or the 
2.33 	whole blood, except as to marriages permitted by the established customs of aboriginal 
2.34 	cultures; and.
3.1 	(4) a marriage between persons of the same sex.
3.2 	(b) A marriage entered into by persons of the same sex, either under common law or 
3.3 	statute, that is recognized by another state or foreign jurisdiction is void in this state and 
3.4 	contractual rights granted by virtue of the marriage or its termination are unenforceable in 
3.5 	this state.
3.6 		Subd. 2.Developmentally disabled persons; consent by commissioner of 
3.7 	human services. Developmentally disabled persons committed to the guardianship of 
3.8 	the commissioner of human services and developmentally disabled persons committed 
3.9 	to the conservatorship of the commissioner of human services in which the terms of the 
3.10 	conservatorship limit the right to marry or enter a civil union contract, may marry enter a 
3.11 	civil union contract on receipt of written consent of the commissioner. The commissioner 
3.12 	shall grant consent unless it appears from the commissioner's investigation that the 
3.13 	marriage civil union contract is not in the best interest of the ward or conservatee and the 
3.14 	public. The court administrator of the district court in the county where the application for 
3.15 	a license is made by the ward or conservatee shall not issue the license unless the court 
3.16 	administrator has received a signed copy of the consent of the commissioner of human 
3.17 	services.

3.18 	Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 517.07, is amended to read:
3.19 	517.07 LICENSE.
3.20 	Before any persons are joined in marriage a civil union contract, a license shall be 
3.21 	obtained from the local registrar of any county. The marriage civil union contract need not 
3.22 	take place be formally entered in the county where the license is obtained.

3.23 	Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 517.08, is amended to read:
3.24 	517.08 APPLICATION FOR LICENSE.
3.25 		Subd. 1a.Form. Application for a marriage civil union contract license shall be 
3.26 	made upon a form provided for the purpose and shall contain the following information:
3.27 	(1) the full names of the parties and the sex of each party;
3.28 	(2) their post office addresses and county and state of residence;
3.29 	(3) their full ages;
3.30 	(4) if either party has previously been married, the party's married name, and the 
3.31 	date, place and court in which the marriage was dissolved or annulled or the date and 
3.32 	place of death of the former spouse;
4.1 	(5) if either party has previously been a party to a civil union contract, the date of 
4.2 	the civil union contract, and the place and court in which the civil union contract was 
4.3 	dissolved;
4.4 	(5) (6) if either party is a minor, the name and address of the minor's parents or 
4.5 	guardian;
4.6 	(6) (7) whether the parties are related to each other, and, if so, their relationship;
4.7 	(7) (8) the name and date of birth of any child of which both parties are parents, born 
4.8 	before the making of the application, unless their parental rights and the parent and child 
4.9 	relationship with respect to the child have been terminated;
4.10 	(8) (9) address of the bride and groom parties after the marriage civil union contract 
4.11 	is entered to which the court administrator shall send a certified copy of the marriage 
4.12 	certificate civil union contract;
4.13 	(9) (10) the full names the parties will have after marriage the civil union contract 
4.14 	is entered and the parties' Social Security numbers. The Social Security numbers must 
4.15 	be collected for the application but must not appear on the marriage license civil union 
4.16 	contract;
4.17 	(10) (11) if one or both of the individual parties to the marriage license has a felony 
4.18 	conviction under Minnesota law or the law of another state or federal jurisdiction, the 
4.19 	parties shall provide to the county proof of service upon the prosecuting authority and, if 
4.20 	applicable, the attorney general, as required by section 259.13; and  
4.21 	(11) (12) notice that a party who has a felony conviction under Minnesota law or the 
4.22 	law of another state or federal jurisdiction may not use a different surname after marriage 
4.23 	except as authorized by section 259.13, and that doing so is a gross misdemeanor.  
4.24 		Subd. 1b.Term of license; fee; premarital education. (a) The local registrar 
4.25 	shall examine upon oath the party applying for a license relative to the legality of the 
4.26 	contemplated marriage civil union contract. If at the expiration of a five-day period, on 
4.27 	being satisfied that there is no legal impediment to it, including the restriction contained in 
4.28 	section 259.13, the local registrar shall issue the license, containing the full names of the 
4.29 	parties before and after marriage the civil union contract is entered, and county and state 
4.30 	of residence, with the county seal attached, and make a record of the date of issuance. The 
4.31 	license shall be valid for a period of six months. In case of emergency or extraordinary 
4.32 	circumstances, a judge of the district court of the county in which the application is 
4.33 	made, may authorize the license to be issued at any time before the expiration of the 
4.34 	five days. Except as provided in paragraph (b), the local registrar shall collect from the 
4.35 	applicant a fee of $110 for administering the oath, issuing, recording, and filing all papers 
4.36 	required, and preparing and transmitting to the state registrar of vital statistics the reports 
5.1 	of marriage a civil union contract required by this section. If the license should not be 
5.2 	used within the period of six months due to illness or other extenuating circumstances, it 
5.3 	may be surrendered to the local registrar for cancellation, and in that case a new license 
5.4 	shall issue upon request of the parties of the original license without fee. A local registrar 
5.5 	who knowingly issues or signs a marriage license in any manner other than as provided in 
5.6 	this section shall pay to the parties aggrieved an amount not to exceed $1,000.
5.7 	(b) The marriage civil union contract license fee for parties who have completed at 
5.8 	least 12 hours of premarital education is $40. In order to qualify for the reduced license 
5.9 	fee, the parties must submit at the time of applying for the marriage license a signed and 
5.10 	dated statement from the person who provided the premarital education confirming that 
5.11 	it was received. The premarital education must be provided by a licensed or ordained 
5.12 	minister or the minister's designee, a person authorized to solemnize marriages under 
5.13 	section 517.18, or a person authorized to practice marriage and family therapy under 
5.14 	section 148B.33. The education must include the use of a premarital inventory and the 
5.15 	teaching of communication and conflict management skills.
5.16 	(c) The statement from the person who provided the premarital education under 
5.17 	paragraph (b) must be in the following form:
5.18 	"I, (name of educator), confirm that (names of both parties) received at least 12 
5.19 	hours of premarital education that included the use of a premarital inventory and the 
5.20 	teaching of communication and conflict management skills. I am a licensed or ordained 
5.21 	minister, a person authorized to solemnize marriages under Minnesota Statutes, section 
5.22 	517.18, or a person licensed to practice marriage and family therapy under Minnesota 
5.23 	Statutes, section 148B.33."
5.24 	The names of the parties in the educator's statement must be identical to the legal 
5.25 	names of the parties as they appear in the marriage civil union contract license application. 
5.26 	Notwithstanding section 138.17, the educator's statement must be retained for seven 
5.27 	years, after which time it may be destroyed.
5.28 	(d) If section 259.13 applies to the request for a marriage civil union contract license, 
5.29 	the local registrar shall grant the marriage license without the requested name change. 
5.30 	Alternatively, the local registrar may delay the granting of the marriage civil union 
5.31 	contract license until the party with the conviction:
5.32 	(1) certifies under oath that 30 days have passed since service of the notice for a 
5.33 	name change upon the prosecuting authority and, if applicable, the attorney general and no 
5.34 	objection has been filed under section 259.13; or
6.1 	(2) provides a certified copy of the court order granting it. The parties seeking the 
6.2 	marriage license shall have the right to choose to have the license granted without the 
6.3 	name change or to delay its granting pending further action on the name change request.
6.4 		Subd. 1c.Disposition of license fee. (a) Of the marriage civil union contract license 
6.5 	fee collected pursuant to subdivision 1b, paragraph (a), $25 must be retained by the county. 
6.6 	The local registrar must pay $85 to the commissioner of finance to be deposited as follows:
6.7 	(1) $50 in the general fund;
6.8 	(2) $3 in the state government special revenue fund to be appropriated to the 
6.9 	commissioner of public safety for parenting time centers under section 119A.37;
6.10 	(3) $2 in the special revenue fund to be appropriated to the commissioner of health 
6.11 	for developing and implementing the MN ENABL program under section 145.9255;
6.12 	(4) $25 in the special revenue fund is appropriated to the commissioner of 
6.13 	employment and economic development for the displaced homemaker program under 
6.14 	section 116L.96; and
6.15 	(5) $5 in the special revenue fund is appropriated to the commissioner of human 
6.16 	services for the Minnesota Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood Initiative under 
6.17 	section 256.742.
6.18 	(b) Of the $40 fee under subdivision 1b, paragraph (b), $25 must be retained by the 
6.19 	county. The local registrar must pay $15 to the commissioner of finance to be deposited 
6.20 	as follows:
6.21 	(1) $5 as provided in paragraph (a), clauses (2) and (3); and
6.22 	(2) $10 in the special revenue fund is appropriated to the commissioner of 
6.23 	employment and economic development for the displaced homemaker program under 
6.24 	section 116L.96.
6.25 	(c) The increase in the marriage license fee under paragraph (a) provided for in Laws 
6.26 	2004, chapter 273, and disbursement of the increase in that fee to the special fund for the 
6.27 	Minnesota Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood Initiative under paragraph (a), 
6.28 	clause (5), is contingent upon the receipt of federal funding under United States Code, title 
6.29 	42, section 1315, for purposes of the initiative.
6.30 		Subd. 4.Report. The local registrar of each county shall annually report to the 
6.31 	Department of Health the number of marriage licenses issued in the county for which 
6.32 	the fee in subdivision 1b, paragraph (a), was paid and the number for which the fee in 
6.33 	subdivision 1b, paragraph (b), was paid.

6.34 	Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 517.10, is amended to read:
6.35 	517.10 CERTIFICATE; WITNESSES.
7.1 	The person solemnizing a marriage local registrar of each county shall prepare and 
7.2 	sign three certificates thereof of lawful civil union contract. Each certificate shall contain 
7.3 	the full names before and after marriage the civil union contract and county and state of 
7.4 	residences of the parties and the date and place of the marriage civil union contract. Each 
7.5 	certificate shall also contain the signatures of at least two of the witnesses present at the 
7.6 	marriage time the civil union contract was signed, who shall be at least 16 years of age. 
7.7 	The person solemnizing the marriage registrar shall give each of the parties one such 
7.8 	certificate, and shall immediately make a record of such marriage civil union contract, and 
7.9 	file one such certificate with the local registrar of the district court of the county in which 
7.10 	the license was issued within five days after the ceremony civil union contract was signed. 
7.11 	The local registrar shall record such certificate in a book kept for that purpose.

7.12 	Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 517.101, is amended to read:
7.13 	517.101 CERTIFIED COPIES OF MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE.
7.14 	Within ten days of receipt of the certificate and after recording the certificate the 
7.15 	local registrar shall prepare a certified copy of the certificate to be mailed to the married
7.16 	parties. The person solemnizing the marriage shall indicate at the time of filing the 
7.17 	certificate with the local registrar that the person wishes to receive a copy.

7.18 	Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 517.20, is amended to read:
7.19 	517.20 APPLICATION.
7.20 	Except as provided in section 517.03, subdivision 1, paragraph (b), All marriages 
7.21 	and civil unions contracted within this state prior to March 1, 1979 or outside this state 
7.22 	that were valid at the time of the contract or subsequently validated by the laws of the 
7.23 	place in which they were contracted or by the domicile of the parties are valid in this state.  

7.24 	Sec. 10. [517.22] MARRIAGE BY RELIGIOUS INSTITUTION NOT 
7.25 	PROHIBITED.
7.26 	(a) Nothing in this chapter prohibits a religious institution or cultural group from 
7.27 	performing a ceremony of marriage, according to any applicable rules or customs of the 
7.28 	institution or group. A licensed or ordained minister may be a witness to the signing of a 
7.29 	civil union contract as required by section 517.10.
7.30 	(b) Notwithstanding a marriage ceremony performed by a religious institution or 
7.31 	cultural group, the parties to that ceremony are not entitled to the rights, benefits, or 
7.32 	privileges of Minnesota law resulting from a civil union contract until such civil union 
7.33 	contract is lawfully signed and entered as provided in this chapter.

8.1 	Sec. 11. [517.23] MEANING OF CIVIL UNION CONTRACT.
8.2 	Wherever the term "marriage," "marital," "marry," or "married" is used in Minnesota 
8.3 	statute in reference to the rights, obligations, or privileges of a couple under law, the term 
8.4 	shall include a civil union contract, or parties to a civil union contract, as established by 
8.5 	this chapter. A term subject to this definition must also be interpreted in reference to the 
8.6 	context in which it appears, but may not be interpreted to limit or exclude any parties who 
8.7 	have entered a valid civil union contract under this chapter.

8.8 	Sec. 12.  REPEALER.
 8.9 	Minnesota Statutes 2008, sections 517.04; 517.041; 517.05; 517.06; 517.09; 517.13; 
8.10 	517.14; 517.15; 517.16; and 517.18, are repealed.

8.11 	Sec. 13. EFFECTIVE DATE.
 8.12 	Sections 1 to 11 are effective August 1, 2009, and apply to civil union contracts 
8.13 	applied for on or after that date. After August 1, 2009, the local registrar of each county 
8.14 	is prohibited from accepting or processing an application for marriage license that is 
8.15 	inconsistent with the requirements of this act.