Senate Bill No. 542
(By Senators Harrison, Kessler and Smith)
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[Introduced February 14, 2003; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend article one, chapter fifty-nine of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated section ten-a,
relating to establishing a marriage license discount if the
applicants show proof of a certificate of completion by an
approved premarital counseling course.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article one, chapter fifty-nine of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section ten-a,
to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. FEES AND ALLOWANCES.
§
59-1-10a. Marriage license discount.
(a) A county shall discount a marriage license fee under
section ten of this article if the couple to be married has completed, within one year before the date of the application for
the license, a premarital counseling course that meets the
following requirements specified in this section.
(b) A premarital counseling course shall include instruction
regarding: (1) Conflict management; (2) communication skills; (3)
financial responsibilities; (4) children and parenting
responsibilities; and (5) consisting of at least four hours of
instruction.
(c) A premarital counseling course may be conducted by a
clinical professional counselor, licensed in the state, or any
person listed on the registry to perform marriages in the secretary
of state's office.
(d) A premarital counseling course provider shall provide to
each couple who completes the course a certificate of completion
that specifies: (1) The names of the couple; (2) the name of the
provider; and (3) the date of completion of the course.
(e) To receive a discounted marriage license fee under this
section an applicant for a license shall verify completion of a
premarital counseling course by presenting to the clerk of the
county commission a valid certificate of course completion issued
in accordance with subsection (d) of this section.
(f) Any cost for a premarital counseling course shall be paid
by the applicant for a marriage.
(g) The amount of any discount shall be five dollars from the portion of fees not yet dedicated in section ten, article one,
chapter fifty-nine of this code, from the regular marriage license
fee.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish a marriage
license discount for applicants who complete an approved premarital
counseling course.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.