H. B. 2246


(By Delegates Henderson, Riggs,
Thomas, Rowe, Smirl and Hunt)

[Introduced February 27, 1997; referred to the
Committee on Political Subdivisions.]



A BILL to amend and reenact section six-d, article one, chapter forty-eight of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to offenses and penalties regarding the issuance of marriage licenses; and authorizing county clerks to issue marriage licenses during all office hours.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section six-d, article one, chapter forty-eight of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. MARRIAGE.
§48-1-6d. Offenses and penalties.

Any applicant for a marriage license, any physician or representative of a laboratory who shall knowingly misrepresent any of the facts called for in the physician's statement or laboratory report, respectively; and any clerk of the county court commission or other licensing authority who shall make a false entry as to the date of application for a marriage license; and any clerk of the county court commission or other licensing authority who shall issue a marriage license prior to the end of the required three-day period or without the required physician's statement and laboratory report (unless these shall have been dispensed with by judicial order pursuant to section six-c), or who shall issue such the license despite his or her having reason to believe that any of the facts contained in said the statement or report have been misrepresented, or shall issue a license on any Sunday or after five o'clock p.m. and before eight o'clock a.m. on any weekday, or who shall receive an application for such the license or issue any such license in any place other than the office of such the licensing authority, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than two hundred nor more than one thousand dollars, or by confinement in jail for not less than three nor more than nine months, or by both such fine and confinement in the discretion of the court; or if any clerk of the county court commission or other licensing authority shall otherwise knowingly issue a marriage license contrary to law, he or she shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or by confinement in jail not more than one year, or by both such fine and confinement in the discretion of the court.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow county clerks to issue marriage licenses during all hours that office is opened.


Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.