Simple Explanation of House Bill No. 6045

This bill is about how marriage licenses can be issued in Michigan, especially when people want to keep their marriage information private or when one or both people getting married are under the usual legal marriage age.

Main Points of the Bill

• Privacy for Marriage Dates: If a person wants to keep the exact date of their marriage secret (for example, for personal or safety reasons), the probate judge can issue a marriage license without making the date public. This happens if the person applying gives a good reason under oath, and the judge agrees it’s a valid reason.
• Marrying Minors with Consent: The bill allows the probate judge to marry people under the usual marriage age if certain conditions are met:
  • If both people are underage, then all living biological or adoptive parents and guardians must give written permission.
  • If only one person is underage, then the parents or guardians of that person must give written permission.
• Handling Objections from Noncustodial Parents: If a parent does not have custody of the minor but is notified about the marriage request and does not object within 5 days, only the custodial parent’s consent is needed. Some parents don’t need to give consent, such as those in prison, mental health facilities with legal incapacity, or those who cannot be found after a thorough search.
• Correcting Marriage Dates: The probate judge can also approve orders that correct or change the marriage date on the license after the fact (this is called nunc pro tunc).

Additional Information

This bill will only become effective if a specific resolution (either Senate Joint Resolution or House Joint Resolution) becomes part of Michigan's state constitution according to Article XII, Section 1.

In short, this bill provides a way to keep marriage details private in certain cases and lays out rules for marrying minors legally with proper parental consent.