What's happening
This bill allows former mayors in New York to officiate and solemnize marriages, expanding the list of authorized officials.
Why it matters
Expanding who can officiate weddings increases flexibility and convenience for couples. By allowing former mayors to solemnize marriages, couples gain more options for choosing someone meaningful or prominent to conduct their ceremony, potentially making the process more personal or accessible.
Recognition of former mayors’ ongoing public trust and status. This change reflects a belief that former mayors, like current mayors, hold a level of respect and trust in their communities, justifying their inclusion among officials who can legally officiate marriages even after they leave office.
May benefit smaller municipalities and rural areas. In places where there may be fewer officials available to perform marriages, especially outside big cities, adding former mayors to the list could reduce wait times or logistical barriers for couples seeking to get married.
Signals a broader trend of expanding marriage officiant eligibility. This amendment continues a legislative pattern of broadening who can perform marriage ceremonies in New York, possibly setting a precedent for including other former public officials in the future.
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Who cares
Former village mayors
The bill would authorize them to solemnize marriages.
Former city mayors
The bill would extend marriage-officiating authority beyond former mayors of cities of the first class with more than one million residents to former mayors of other cities.
Couples choosing a marriage officiant
The bill would expand their options to include former village and city mayors not already authorized to perform marriages.
Headline styles
Let Ex-Mayors Officiate Marriages
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to judiciary
- Referred to judiciary
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
7712
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 17, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. GALEF -- read once and referred to the Committee on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the domestic relations law, in relation to authorizing former mayors to solemnize a marriage
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 11 of the domestic relations law, as amended by section 1 of subpart E of part B of chapter 20 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
2. The current or a former governor, a mayor or former mayor of a village, a county executive of a county, or a mayor or former mayor, recorder, city magistrate, police justice or police magistrate of a city, a mayor or former mayor or the city clerk of a city of the first class of over one million inhabitants or any of his or her deputies or not more than four regular clerks, designated by him or her for such purpose as provided in section eleven-a of this article, except that in cities which contain more than one hundred thousand and less than one million inhabitants, a marriage shall be solemnized by the mayor, former mayor, or police justice, and by no other officer of such city, except as provided in subdivisions one and three of this section.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08855-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.