00 SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 62(HSS) 01 "An Act relating to the Legislative Ethics Act; relating to solemnization of marriage; 02 and relating to consent to marriage." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04  * Section 1. AS 24.60.030(a) is amended to read: 05 (a) A legislator or legislative employee may not 06 (1) solicit, agree to accept, or accept a benefit other than official 07 compensation for the performance of public duties; this paragraph may not be 08 construed to prohibit 09 (A) lawful solicitation for and acceptance of campaign 10 contributions;  11 (B) [,] solicitation or acceptance of contributions for a charity 12 event, as defined in AS 24.60.080(a)(2)(B);  13 (C) [, OR] the acceptance of a gift under AS 24.60.075 or 14 24.60.080; or  01 (D) a legislator from accepting travel and hospitality  02 primarily for the purpose of solemnizing a marriage under  03 AS 25.05.261(a)(4); 04 (2) use public funds, facilities, equipment, services, or another 05 government asset or resource for a nonlegislative purpose, for involvement in or 06 support of or opposition to partisan political activity, or for the private benefit of the 07 legislator, legislative employee, or another person; this paragraph does not prohibit 08 (A) limited use of state property and resources for personal 09 purposes if the use does not interfere with the performance of public duties and 10 either the cost or value related to the use is nominal or the legislator or 11 legislative employee reimburses the state for the cost of the use; 12 (B) the use of mailing lists, computer data, or other information 13 lawfully obtained from a government agency and available to the general 14 public for nonlegislative purposes; 15 (C) the legislative council, notwithstanding AS 24.05.190, from 16 designating a public facility for use by legislators and legislative employees for 17 health or fitness purposes; when the council designates a facility to be used by 18 legislators and legislative employees for health or fitness purposes, it shall 19 adopt guidelines governing access to and use of the facility; the guidelines may 20 establish times in which use of the facility is limited to specific groups; 21 (D) a legislator from using the legislator's private office in the 22 capital city during a legislative session, and for the 10 days immediately before 23 and the 10 days immediately after a legislative session, for nonlegislative 24 purposes if the use does not interfere with the performance of public duties and 25 if there is no cost to the state for the use of the space and equipment, other than 26 utility costs and minimal wear and tear, or the legislator promptly reimburses 27 the state for the cost; an office is considered a legislator's private office under 28 this subparagraph if it is the primary space in the capital city reserved for use 29 by the legislator, whether or not it is shared with others; 30 (E) a legislator from use of legislative employees to prepare 31 and send out seasonal greeting cards; 01 (F) a legislator from using state resources to transport 02 computers or other office equipment owned by the legislator but primarily used 03 for a state function; 04 (G) use by a legislator of photographs of that legislator; 05 (H) reasonable use of the Internet by a legislator or a legislative 06 employee except if the use is for election campaign purposes; 07 (I) a legislator or legislative employee from soliciting, 08 accepting, or receiving a gift on behalf of a recognized, nonpolitical charitable 09 organization in a state facility; 10 (J) a legislator from sending any communication in the form of 11 a newsletter to the legislator's constituents, except a communication expressly 12 advocating the election or defeat of a candidate or a newsletter or material in a 13 newsletter that is clearly only for the private benefit of a legislator or a 14 legislative employee; or 15 (K) full participation in a charity event approved in advance by 16 the Alaska Legislative Council; 17 (3) knowingly seek, accept, use, allocate, grant, or award public funds 18 for a purpose other than that approved by law, or make a false statement in connection 19 with a claim, request, or application for compensation, reimbursement, or travel 20 allowances from public funds; 21 (4) require a legislative employee to perform services for the private 22 benefit of the legislator or employee at any time, or allow a legislative employee to 23 perform services for the private benefit of a legislator or employee on government 24 time; it is not a violation of this paragraph if the services were performed in an 25 unusual or infrequent situation and the person's services were reasonably necessary to 26 permit the legislator or legislative employee to perform official duties; 27 (5) use or authorize the use of state funds, facilities, equipment, 28 services, or another government asset or resource for the purpose of political fund 29 raising or campaigning; this paragraph does not prohibit 30 (A) limited use of state property and resources for personal 31 purposes if the use does not interfere with the performance of public duties and 01 either the cost or value related to the use is nominal or the legislator or 02 legislative employee reimburses the state for the cost of the use; 03 (B) the use of mailing lists, computer data, or other information 04 lawfully obtained from a government agency and available to the general 05 public for nonlegislative purposes; 06 (C) storing or maintaining, consistent with (b) of this section, 07 election campaign records in a legislator's office; 08 (D) a legislator from using the legislator's private office in the 09 capital city during a legislative session, and for the 10 days immediately before 10 and the 10 days immediately after a legislative session, for nonlegislative 11 purposes if the use does not interfere with the performance of public duties and 12 if there is no cost to the state for the use of the space and equipment, other than 13 utility costs and minimal wear and tear, or the legislator promptly reimburses 14 the state for the cost; an office is considered a legislator's private office under 15 this subparagraph if it is the primary space in the capital city reserved for use 16 by the legislator, whether or not it is shared with others; or 17 (E) use by a legislator of photographs of that legislator. 18  * Sec. 2. AS 25.05.171(b) is amended to read: 19 (b) A superior court judge may grant permission for a person who has reached 20 the age of 16 [14] but is under the age of 18 to marry and may order the licensing 21 officer to issue the license if the judge finds, following a hearing at which the parents 22 and minor are given the opportunity to appear and be heard, that the marriage is in the 23 best interest of the minor, that the other party to the marriage is not more than  24 three years older, and that either 25 (1) the parents have given their consent; or 26 (2) the parents are 27 (A) arbitrarily and capriciously withholding consent; 28 (B) absent or otherwise unaccountable; 29 (C) in disagreement among themselves on the question; or 30 (D) unfit to decide the matter. 31  * Sec. 3. AS 25.05.301 is amended to read: 01 Sec. 25.05.301. Form of solemnization. In the solemnization of marriage, no 02 particular form is required except that the parties shall assent or declare in the 03 presence of each other and the person solemnizing the marriage [AND IN THE 04 PRESENCE OF AT LEAST TWO COMPETENT WITNESSES] that they take each 05 other to be husband and wife. The person solemnizing the marriage must be [A 06 COMPETENT WITNESS FOR THIS PURPOSE IS] a person of sound mind capable 07 of understanding the seriousness of the ceremony. At the time of the ceremony, the 08 person solemnizing the marriage shall complete the certification on the original 09 marriage certificate. The person solemnizing the marriage and the person verifying  10 the marriage [TWO ATTENDING WITNESSES] shall sign the original marriage 11 certificate and the necessary copies. The person verifying the marriage must be 18  12 years of age or older. The person verifying the marriage shall communicate with  13 both parties before or after the ceremony, but before signing the original  14 marriage certificate and the necessary copies, and confirm that each party  15 intends to marry the other party. The person verifying the marriage is not  16 required to witness the ceremony. 17  * Sec. 4. AS 25.05.321 is amended to read: 18 Sec. 25.05.321. Certificates. The person solemnizing the marriage shall, on 19 the forms provided by the bureau, complete two short-form certificates [,] and, after 20 that person and the person verifying the marriage [TWO WITNESSES] have signed 21 them, give one to each of the parties to the marriage. A church or congregation may 22 design and furnish its own form for this purpose, containing as a minimum the items 23 contained in the form furnished by the bureau. The original marriage certificate shall 24 be filed as required by AS 18.50 (Vital Statistics Act) and regulations adopted under 25 it. The person solemnizing the marriage shall complete the certificate as required and 26 submit it to the local registrar within seven days after [OF] the date the marriage is 27 solemnized. 28  * Sec. 5. AS 25.05.321 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 29 (b) The person solemnizing the marriage and the person verifying the 30 marriage shall provide their printed names, mailing and electronic mail addresses, and 31 telephone numbers on the forms provided by the bureau or by a church or 01 congregation. 02  * Sec. 6. AS 25.05.361 is amended to read: 03 Sec. 25.05.361. Unlawful solemnization of marriage. A person who 04 solemnizes a marriage without first receiving a proper marriage license from the 05 parties as provided in this chapter or without the parties declaring to take each other as 06 husband and wife [, OR WITHOUT REQUIRING THE PRESENCE OF TWO 07 COMPETENT WITNESSES]; or who solemnizes a marriage involving a person 08 under the legal age of marriage without the consent of (1) the licensing official when 09 authorized, or (2) the parents or guardian of the underaged person, being stated in the 10 license; or who solemnizes a marriage knowing of any legal impediment thereto, or 11 who solemnizes a marriage after the expiration of the license, or who falsely certifies 12 to the date of a marriage solemnized by that person is guilty of a misdemeanor, and 13 upon conviction is punishable by imprisonment for not more than six months, or by a 14 fine of not more than $500, or by both. 15  * Sec. 7. AS 25.20.020 is amended to read: 16 Sec. 25.20.020. Arrival at majority upon marriage. A person arrives at the 17 age of majority upon being married according to law [, UNLESS THE PERSON IS 18 UNDER THE MARRIAGEABLE AGE OF CONSENT AS DEFINED IN 19 AS 25.05.171(a), IN WHICH CASE THE PERSON REACHES MAJORITY UPON 20 REACHING THE MARRIAGEABLE AGE OF CONSENT]. 21  * Sec. 8. AS 25.05.041(a)(3), 25.05.041(a)(5), and 25.05.171(a) are repealed.