Marriage Education and Skills Training Legislation

(Covenant Marriage Legislation, which also usually involves premarital training and marriage counseling requirements, is on a separate page)

Classic Marriage -- Our Comprehensive Model Legislation.

Model legislative provisions on pre-marital education or training

2005 Utah Pre-Marital Education
H.B. 252 Sponsor: Rosalind J. McGee
This bill: provides a mechanism for couples who undergo premarital education to receive a reduction of the marriage license fee; requires eight hours of premarital education; frames the requirements for premarital education; and limits who can conduct the premarital education to licensed or ordained ministers, or their designees, persons who can solemnize marriages, marriage and family therapists, social workers, or psychologists.

2005 North Dakota Marriage license fee/pre-marital education
SENATE BILL NO. 2361 Introduced by
Senators Dever, Erbele, Mathern
Representatives L. Meier, Sandvig, Sitte
This bill changes the marriage license fee for those who completed premarital counseling, and says who can administer the counseling.

2005 Mississippi Counseling
HB326 By:Representative Whittington
An act to require counseling for minor children and parents before a divorce can be granted.

2005 Hawaii License Fee/Pre-marital Education
SB1247 Introducer(s): SAKAMOTO, Inouye, Nishihara
Provides reduced marriage license fees for couples participating in premarital educational classes; requires mandatory classes for parents and children involved in divorce proceedings; requires marital resource brochures be given to applicants for marriage licenses.

2005 Hawaii Marriage Education
SB554 Introducer(s): CHUN OAKLAND, Fukunaga, Hanabusa, Kokubun
Requires the department of health to distribute brochures on parenting and divorce to all marriage license applicants.

2005 Georgia Marriage Education
SB25 By: Senators Seabaugh, Harp, Schaefer, Hill, Pearson and more.
A Bill to require certain divorcing parents to participate in education classes that focus on the effect of divorce and separation on children; to provide for the types of persons who can provide the education; to provide for exceptions to the education classes; to provide that a court shall grant a divorce only after a120-day period from service for those who do NOT have children under 18, and a 180-day period for those parties who DO have children under 18.

New Taiwanese law requires premarital classes

Georgia house passes premarital counseling bill 3/15/04 (passed by Senate 4/2/04)

2004 Iowa premarital counseling/waiting period law passed

2004 Michigan Pre-Divorce Counseling Bill

2004 Comprehensive Louisiana Divorce Law Reform Bill

2003 Indiana Pre-divorce counseling bill

2003 Louisiana Comprehensive Divorce Reform Bill

2003 West Virginia Premarital Counseling Bill

California 2002 Marriage Education Bill

Maryland Marriage Counseling Bill, Jan. 12, 2000 (worse version was later passed)

2002 COLORADO DIVORCE COUNSELING/WAITING LEGISLATION

Arizona Marriage and Parenting Skills Program Legislation

Connecticut Marriage Counseling Bill
(Note: Most bills from earlier years are no longer pending, although some have been continued to the next session instead of being killed.)

Florida Marriage Preparation and Preservation Act (passed)
If doesn't work, try copying and pasting http://www.leg.state.fl.us/citizen/documents/statutes/1998/ch0741/sec0305%5F.htm or http://www.leg.state.fl.us/citizen/documents/statutes/1998/ch0741/sec0305?.htm
Chiles signs marriage education bill x

Kansas counseling bill SB 320 x

Michigan Marriage Counseling Bill

Mississippi counseling bill: SB 2917

California bill requiring divorcing parents to get counseling and produce a joint parenting plan x
California counseling bill in form of Pilot Project x

Virginia bill requiring counseling and joint parenting plan in custody cases

There are many more such bills out there.
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