BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1364
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 20, 2006
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
Dave Jones, Chair
SB 1364 (Battin) - As Amended: May 2, 2006
PROPOSED CONSENT
SENATE VOTE : 37-0
SUBJECT : MARRIAGE LICENSES
KEY ISSUE : SHOULD PARTIES AND WITNESSES TO MARRIAGE BE
PERMITTED TO PROVIDE MAILING ADDRESSES, AS OPPOSED TO
RESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES, ON MARRIAGE LICENSES OR CERTIFICATES OF
REGISTRY?
SYNOPSIS
This non-controversial bill allows an applicant or witnesses to
a marriage license or certificate of registry to use their
mailing address instead of a residential address for
verification purposes.
SUMMARY : Addresses the verification process in marriages.
Specifically, this bill allows both marriage license applicants
and witnesses to a marriage to provide their mailing address in
lieu of a residential address on the marriage license and
certificate of registry.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires parties to receive a marriage license prior to
entering into a marriage. (Family Code Section 350.)
2)Requires applicants for a marriage license to obtain a
certificate of registry of marriage from the county clerk.
The person solemnizing the marriage shall complete the
certificate along with one witness to the marriage ceremony.
The witness must place their signature and address on the
certificate. The certificate is then returned to the county
recorder. (Family Code Section 359(d).)
3)Requires a marriage license to show the identity of the
parties to the marriage, the parties' real and full names,
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places of residence, and the parties' ages. The county clerk
transmits copies of issued licenses to the county recorder.
(Family Code Sections 351, 357.)
4)Prevents disclosure of information concerning a confidential
marriage to the public, aside from verifying the existence of
a marriage, absent a court order issued upon a showing of good
cause. (Family Code Section 511.)
FISCAL EFFECT : As currently in print this bill is keyed
non-fiscal.
COMMENTS : The California Judges' Association, sponsor of this
non-controversial measure, brought this bill to address concerns
about the public availability of residential addresses for
members of the judiciary within California. This concern can of
course also be extended to the public at large, especially in
cases of stalking, domestic violence, or identity theft. For
example, if a district attorney applies for a marriage license,
that individual may wish to prevent individuals from discovering
his or her residential address. Under this bill, the district
attorney could instead place any valid mailing address on the
marriage license. Allowing this substitution prevents
unnecessary disclosure of the residential address and provides a
possible way to verify the marriage or to contact the party.
By allowing the use of mailing addresses in lieu of residential
addresses in these circumstances, this measure could make it a
bit more difficult to track down witnesses or parties to a
marriage for verification purposes, especially considering the
fact that a mailing address can be any address an individual
could receive mail at, including a Post Office box number, or
the address of a friend or family member where the witness
receives mail. However this arguably should be balanced against
the state's interest in protecting the privacy of its citizens
from unnecessary intrusion. This proposal addresses this issue
by allowing an applicant or witnesses to a marriage license or
certificate of registry to use their mailing address instead of
a residential address for verification purposes.
Background : In California, many documents are public records by
law. These documents include birth, death, and marriage
certificates, and divorce, property and court records. Many of
these documents, including marriage licenses, contain personally
identifying information such as names and addresses.
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Marriage licenses must contain the identity, real name,
residential address and age of both parties. Prior to
solemnizing the marriage, parties receive a marriage license and
a certificate of registry. The certificate of registry must be
filled out by the individual solemnizing the marriage, along
with the signature and address of one witness. Upon completion
and filing of the certificate of registry, the county clerk may
issue a marriage certificate to the parties. The license and
certificate of registry are public documents and stay on file
with the county clerk. The public nature of that information
helps prevent simultaneous and other invalid marriages. As
these are public records, any member of the public can inspect
them during reasonable business hours. As a result, individual
residential addresses are available for public discovery.
The purpose of this provision is to provide some way to identify
and contact the actual parties to the marriage. For example, if
a marriage license were to contain only the names John Smith and
Jane Smith, anyone attempting to verify the parties to the
marriage may have great difficulty contacting them without an
address. Considering the increasing population of many cities
within the state, each city may contain hundreds of individuals
with similar names. In cases where an individual may seek
verification of a marriage, such as to check for possible
bigamy, a mere name on a marriage license would be insufficient.
Similarly, addresses are required for witnesses to the ceremony
on the certificate of registry. These individuals witness the
ceremony and verify that the marriage, in fact, occurred. In
cases where the actual marriage is disputed, parties must track
down these witnesses to the ceremony for verification.
Requiring an address for a witness, as for the applicants,
provides a starting point by which to track down the individual.
A Note Regarding Confidential Marriages : Under existing law,
individuals can enter into a confidential marriage if they "have
been living together as husband and wife." (Family Code Section
500.) Confidential marriages shield a couple's information from
public view absent a court order upon a showing of good cause.
Similar to those entering into a public marriage, confidential
marriages require receipt of a marriage license, filling out of
a certificate, and filing of the certificate with the county
clerk. Unlike public marriages, the information contained
within those documents is private. Public disclosure of
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information contained in the license and certificate, aside from
the existence of a marriage, can only be released pursuant to a
court order upon a showing of good cause. This bill arguably
provides a meaningful alternative to confidential marriages for
individuals who desire not to disclose their residential address
by allowing them to use any mailing address in a public
marriage.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Judges Association (sponsor)
Judicial Council of California
California District Attorneys Association
California State Sheriffs' Association
Chief Probation Officers of California
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Peace Officers Research Association of California
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Drew Liebert and Amanda Kirchner / JUD. /
(916) 319-2334