Sponsor Statement for Senate Bill 318

"An Act relating to marriage; and amending Rules 54 and 56, Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure."

SB 318 creates a new option for persons seeking a marriage license from the state. Couples can receive a license for a "testament marriage," which is already provided for under existing statute, or they can apply to receive a license for a "charter marriage," sometimes referred to as "covenant marriage."

The two options offer each partner significantly different rights and responsibilities. A charter marriage is a union more difficult to enter into, and also more difficult to dissolve. Couples seeking a charter marriage must receive premarital counseling and sign a declaration of intent stating an understanding that their marriage will be a lifelong relationship. The declaration also includes a statement that each partner has disclosed "all facts that may adversely affect the intended mate’s decision to enter into a charter marriage." The couple commits to seeking counseling in the event of marital difficulties.

In contrast to the existing testament marriage law, a spouse in a charter marriage may obtain a judgment of divorce only under four conditions: adultery committed by the other spouse; felony conviction by the other spouse resulting in a sentence of three or more years incarceration; abandonment by the other spouse lasting at least one year; or if the two spouses have been living apart for more than a year following a legal separation (18 months if the couple has a minor child). Certain other grounds for divorce allowed under existing law, such as "incompatibility of temperament," are insufficient for granting a divorce in a charter marriage.

Spouses in a charter marriage enjoy rights and bear responsibilities not recognized by the existing testament marriage law. Most couples believe marriage is much more than a business partnership, but under existing no-fault divorce law the marriage contract is treated as much less than a business partnership. Charter marriage provides couples the option of entering into a marriage contract that is at least as binding as a business contract.

Establishing two types of marriage contracts under state law will provoke useful discussions among engaged couples, since every couple will have to decide which option is best for them. If couples make more educated decisions about marriage, it will likely result in fewer failed marriages and fewer broken families. Alaska’s divorce rate is higher than the national average, with 5.1 divorces per year for every 1,000 people, compared to the national rate of 4.1 per 1,000 (statistics from 1995).

Many social problems the Legislature has struggled to address in recent years have been linked to broken marriages and families, including domestic violence, teenage pregnancy, drug and alcohol abuse, and increased juvenile crime. To the extent charter marriage law succeeds in keeping some marriages intact, or in preventing some marriages from occurring in the first place, it will do more to mitigate these social pathologies than any government program could ever hope to accomplish.

Prepared by Mike Pauley, Staff Aide to Senator Loren Leman (465-3841)

Last updated: February 19, 1998