Civil unions.

WORKING DRAFT
2011
STATE OF
WYOMING
11LSO-0460

HOUSE BILL
NO.
HB0150

Civil unions.

Sponsored by:
Representative(s) Connolly, Childers, Wallis and Zwonitzer, Dn. and Senator(s) Von Flatern

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to
domestic relations;
establishing civil unions and related rights and responsibilities; specifying limits on civil unions;
requiring
licenses; defining persons who can solemnize civil unions and perform
ceremonies
; requiring the issuance of certificates; defining offenses and penalties; providing for the recognition of foreign civil unions; establishing the presumed legitimacy of children of civil unions;
amending paternity presumptions;
providing for dissolution or affirmation of civil unions;
defining
the applicability of other law;
amending bigamy statutes; prohibiting multiple civil unions; providing penalties;

and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of
Wyoming
:

Section 1.

W
.S.
6
‑
4
‑
407 and
20
‑
8
‑
101 through 20
‑
8
‑
113
are created to read:

6
‑
4
‑
407.

Multiple civil unions; penalties; defense.

(a)

A person who is a party to a civil union, and who knows that the other party to the civil union is alive, is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than five (5) years, a fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00), or both, if he enters into another civil union or marries.

(b)

It is a defense that the accused person reasonably believed that he was eligible to enter into a new civil union or marriage.

CHAPTER 8
CREATION OF CIVIL
UNION

20
‑
8
‑
101.

Purposes
; construction
.

W.S. 20
‑
8
‑
101 through 20
‑
8
‑
1
1
3 shall
be liberally construed and app
lied to promote their
underlying
purposes, which are to provide
adequate procedures for the licensing
,
certification and registratio
n of civil union
s
and
to
provide
persons entering into a civil union with the
obligations, responsibilities, protections and benefits afforded
to
married persons and
spouses.

20
‑
8
‑
102
.

Protections, obligations and responsibilities.

A party to a
civil union is entitled to the
same legal obligations
, responsibilities, protections and
benefits as are afforded or r
ecognized by the law of Wyoming
to
married persons and
spouses, whether they derive from statute, administrative

rule, policy, common law
o
r any other source of civil or criminal law.

20
‑
8
‑
103
.

Minimum age; exception; parental consent
.

Parties seeking to enter into a civil union shall be subject to the limitations, exceptions and
parental consent requirements established
by W.S. 20
‑
1
‑
102
for parties seeking marriage
.

20
‑
8
‑
104
.

License; required
.

(a)

Before solemnization of any
civil union in this state,
a
civil union
license shall be obtained from a
Wyoming
county clerk.

(b)

The civil union license shall be obtain
ed
pursuant to the procedures, and subject to the limitations, applicable to marriage licenses under W.S. 20
‑
1
‑
103.

20
‑
8
‑
105
.

Judge may order license issued.

If any county cle
rk refuses to issue a license for a civil union,
if the parties seeking the civil union are under the age of sixteen (16)

or in case of circumstances arising which would necessitate the waiver of any one (1) or more of the requirements
for obtaining a civil union license, an application to the district court may be filed pursuant to the procedures established by W.S. 20
‑
1
‑
105.

20
‑
8
‑
106
.

Who may solemnize
a civil union
; form of ceremony
; certification
.

(a)

A civil union may be solemnized by the persons identified in W.S. 20
‑
1
‑
106.

(b)

In the solemnization of
a civil union
no particular form is required, except that the parties shall solemnly declare in the presence of the person performing the ceremony and at least two (2) attending witnesses that they
wish to be united in a civil union.

20
‑
8
‑
107
.

Certificate of
civil union
.

(a)

When a civil union is solemnized, the person performing the
ceremony
shall comply with the requirements of W.S. 20
‑
1
‑
107.

(b)

The county clerk of each county in the state shall record all returns of
civil unions
in a book kept for that purpose within one (1) month after receipt.

(c)

The original certificate and record of
civil union
made by the person performing the ceremony and the record thereof or a certified copy of the certificate or record is admissible in all courts and places as presumptive evidence of the fact of the
civil union
.

20
‑
8
‑
108
.

Offenses relating to civil unions
generally
.

If the county clerk neglects to record a civil union certificate, or if any person performs a civil union ceremony knowing that he is not legally authorized to do so or knowing of any legal impediment to the proposed civil union, he is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500.00) or imprisonment for not exceeding one (1) year.

20
‑
8
‑
109
.

When
civil union
solemnized by unauthorized person valid
.

No civil union solemnized in any manner authori
zed by W.S. 20
‑
8
‑
106
, shall be deemed or adjudged to be void, nor is the validity of the civil union in any way affected because of a lack of jurisdiction or authority of the person performing the ceremony of civil union if the civil union is
completed
with a full belief on the part of the persons so united, or either of them, that the person performing the ceremony was lawfully authorized to do so.

20
‑
8
‑
110
.

Civil union

ceremony according to rites and customs of religious societies or assemblies.

Any religious society or religious assembly may perform the ceremony of civil union in this state according to the rites and customs of the society or assembly. The clerk or keeper of the minutes, proceedings or other book of the society or assembly wherein the civil union occurs, or if none then the moderator or person presiding in the society or assembly, shall make out and transmit to the county clerk of the coun
ty a certificate of the civil union
.

20
‑
8
‑
111
.

Foreign

civil unions
.

All
civil unions
which are valid by the laws of the
jurisdiction
in which
they are entered
are valid in this state.

20
‑
8
‑
112
.

Legitimacy of children presumed.

The legitimacy of all child
ren conceived or born during a civil union are
rebuttably presumed pursuant to W.S. 14
‑
2
‑
504.

20
‑
8
‑
113
.

Dissolution
;
affirmation;
applicability of other law.

A civil union may be dissolved
or affirmed
pursuant to the procedures, standards and limitations established
under
chapter 2
of
this title.
Unless otherwise prohibited by law, all the provisions contained in
chapter 2 of this title
shall apply to civil unions.
W
hen applying any section of chapter 2 of th
is title,
where marria
ges,
married parties
or spouses
are
referenced
, such references shall be construed to apply to civil union
s
and
to the parties to
civil union
s
.

Section 2.

W.S.
6
‑
4
‑
401(a) and (b) and
14
‑
2
‑
504
by creating a
new subsection (c)
are
amended to read
:

6
‑
4
‑
401.

Bigamy; penalties; defense.

(a)

A person commits bigamy if, being married and knowing that his spouse is alive, he marries again
or enters into a civil union
.

(b)

It is a defense that the accused person reasonably believed that he was eligible to remarry
or enter into a civil union
.

14
‑
2
‑
504.

Presumption of paternity in context of marriage
.

(c)

Subsection (a) of this section shall apply to civil unions
entered
under W.S. 20
‑
8
‑
1
01 through 20
‑
8
‑
1
13 where the civil union is between a man and a woman. For purposes of applying subsection (a) of t
his section to civil unions
between a man and a woman
, a
civil union shall be considered a marriage.

Section 3
.

This act is effect
ive July 1, 2011
.

(END)

1
HB0150