This bill passed the Senate 23-4 and the House with a vote of 44-24.
Senate Bill 54, sponsored by Senator Allen Christensen, allows counties to increase the cost of marriage licensure by $20. Applicants for a marriage license may have their $20 refunded if they both have taken several hours of “premarital counseling or education.”
Last year, a similar bill failed in the Senate on a split 14-14 vote.
Government should not be in the business of marriage. Absent that needed change, it should certainly not increase the hurdle one must jump over in order to obtain the state’s permission to marry. While pre-marital counseling can be helpful, it should not be used as extortion to reclaim one’s own money.
