As Reported by House Civil and Commercial Law Committee       1            

123rd General Assembly                                             4            

   Regular Session                           Sub. H. B. No. 519    5            

      1999-2000                                                    6            


      REPRESENTATIVES WILLIAMS-CATES-NETZLEY-HOOD-SCHULER-         9            

    VAN VYVEN-JOLIVETTE-GRENDELL-HOOPS-TAYLOR-COUGHLIN-ROMAN-                   

            ALLEN-SALERNO-WOMER BENJAMIN-WILLAMOWSKI               10           


_________________________________________________________________   11           

                          A   B I L L                                           

             To amend section 3101.05 and to enact sections        13           

                3101.051 and 3105.73 of the Revised Code to        14           

                eliminate the requirement that social security     15           

                numbers be included on marriage licenses; to                    

                require probate courts, except under certain       16           

                circumstances, to delete social security numbers   17           

                of the parties to a marriage from records          18           

                pertaining to marriage licenses when those         19           

                records are made available for inspection by the                

                public; and to require domestic relations courts,  21           

                except under certain circumstances, to delete      22           

                social security numbers, dates of birth, and bank  23           

                account and credit, debit, and charge card                      

                numbers of the parties in domestic relations       24           

                cases from records pertaining to those cases when  25           

                those records are inspected.                                    




BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:        27           

      Section 1.  That section 3101.05 be amended and sections     30           

3101.051 and 3105.73 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as                  

follows:                                                           31           

      Sec. 3101.05.  (A)  The parties to a marriage shall make an  41           

application for a marriage license not less than five nor more     42           

than thirty days before a license is issued.  Each of the persons  43           

seeking a marriage license shall personally appear in the probate  44           

                                                          2      


                                                                 
court within the county where either resides, or, if neither is a  45           

resident of this state, where the marriage is expected to be       46           

solemnized.   If neither party is a resident of this state, the    47           

marriage may be solemnized only in the county where the license    48           

is obtained.  Each party shall make application and shall state    49           

upon oath, the party's name, age, residence, place of birth,       51           

occupation, social security number, father's name, and mother's    52           

maiden name, if known, and the name of the person who is expected  53           

to solemnize the marriage.  If either party has been previously    54           

married, the application shall include the names of the parties    55           

to any previous marriage and of any minor children, and if         56           

divorced the jurisdiction, date, and case number of the decree.    57           

If either applicant is under the age of eighteen years, the judge  58           

shall require the applicants to state that they received marriage  59           

counseling satisfactory to the court.                                           

      Immediately upon receipt of an application for a marriage    61           

license, the court shall place the parties' record in a book kept  62           

for that purpose.  After the expiration of five and not more than  63           

thirty days from the date of the application, if the probate       64           

judge is satisfied that there is no legal impediment and if one    65           

or both of the parties are present, the probate judge shall grant  67           

the marriage license.                                              68           

      If the judge is satisfied from the affidavit of a reputable  70           

physician in active practice and residing in the county where the  72           

probate court is located, that one of the parties is unable to     73           

appear in court, by reason of illness or other physical            74           

disability, a marriage license may be granted upon application     75           

and oath of the other party to the contemplated marriage; but in   76           

that case the person who is unable to appear in court, at the      78           

time of making application for a marriage license, shall make and  79           

file in that court, an affidavit setting forth the information     81           

required of applicants for a marriage license.  For good cause     82           

shown, the probate judge may waive this section with respect to    83           

the period between the application and the issuance of a marriage  84           

                                                          3      


                                                                 
license and may grant the marriage license at any time after the   85           

application.                                                                    

      Each A marriage license issued shall include NOT DISPLAY     88           

the social security number of each EITHER party to the marriage,   89           

as stated on the marriage license application.                                  

      (B)  An applicant for a marriage license who knowingly       91           

makes a false statement in an application or affidavit prescribed  93           

by this section is guilty of falsification under section 2921.13   94           

of the Revised Code.                                                            

      (C)  No licensing officer shall issue a marriage license if  96           

the officer has not received the application, affidavit, or other  98           

statements prescribed by this section or if the officer has        99           

reason to believe that any of the statements in a marriage         100          

license application or in an affidavit prescribed by this section  101          

is false.                                                          102          

      (D)  Any fine collected for violation of this section shall  104          

be paid to the use of the county together with the costs of        105          

prosecution.                                                       106          

      Sec. 3101.051.  A PROBATE COURT SHALL MAKE AVAILABLE TO ANY  108          

PERSON FOR INSPECTION THE RECORDS PERTAINING TO THE ISSUANCE OF    110          

MARRIAGE LICENSES AS PROVIDED UNDER SECTION 149.43 OF THE REVISED  111          

CODE, EXCEPT THAT THE COURT SHALL DELETE OR OTHERWISE REMOVE ANY   113          

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS OF THE PARTIES TO A MARRIAGE SO THAT THEY  116          

ARE NOT AVAILABLE TO THE PERSON INSPECTING THE RECORDS.  THIS      117          

SECTION DOES NOT APPLY IN ANY OF THE FOLLOWING CIRCUMSTANCES:      118          

      (A)  THE RECORDS ARE INSPECTED BY AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL OF    120          

THE DIVISION OF CHILD SUPPORT IN THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES  122          

UNDER SECTION 5101.31 OF THE REVISED CODE.                         123          

      (B)  THE RECORDS ARE INSPECTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL  125          

FOR PURPOSES OF A CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION.                          126          

      (C)  THE RECORDS WITH THE SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS ARE        129          

NECESSARY FOR USE IN A CIVIL OR CRIMINAL TRIAL IF THE RELEASE OF   130          

THE RECORDS WITH THE SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS IS ORDERED BY A       131          

COURT WITH JURISDICTION OVER THE TRIAL.                                         

                                                          4      


                                                                 
      (D)  THE RECORDS ARE INSPECTED BY EITHER PARTY TO THE        133          

MARRIAGE TO WHICH THE RECORDS PERTAIN.                             134          

      Sec. 3105.73.  A COURT SHALL MAKE AVAILABLE TO ANY PERSON    136          

FOR INSPECTION THE RECORDS PERTAINING TO ANY ACTION INSTITUTED     137          

UNDER THIS CHAPTER AS PROVIDED UNDER SECTION 149.43 OF THE         138          

REVISED CODE, EXCEPT THAT THE COURT SHALL DELETE OR OTHERWISE      140          

REMOVE ANY SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS, DATES OF BIRTH, AND BANK       141          

ACCOUNT, DEBIT CARD, CHARGE CARD, AND CREDIT CARD NUMBERS OF THE   142          

PARTIES TO THE ACTION SO THAT THEY ARE NOT AVAILABLE TO THE        143          

PERSON INSPECTING THE RECORDS.  THIS SECTION DOES NOT APPLY IN     144          

ANY OF THE FOLLOWING CIRCUMSTANCES:                                             

      (A)  THE RECORDS ARE INSPECTED BY AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL OF    146          

THE DIVISION OF CHILD SUPPORT IN THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES  147          

UNDER SECTION 5101.31 OF THE REVISED CODE.                         148          

      (B)  THE RECORDS ARE INSPECTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL  150          

FOR PURPOSES OF A CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION.                          151          

      (C)  THE RECORDS WITH THE SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS, DATES OF  153          

BIRTH, AND BANK ACCOUNT, DEBIT CARD, CHARGE CARD, AND CREDIT CARD  154          

NUMBERS ARE NECESSARY FOR USE IN A CIVIL OR CRIMINAL TRIAL IF THE  156          

RELEASE OF THE RECORDS WITH THE SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS, DATES OF  157          

BIRTH, AND BANK ACCOUNT, DEBIT CARD, CHARGE CARD, AND CREDIT CARD  158          

NUMBERS IS ORDERED BY A COURT WITH JURISDICTION OVER THE TRIAL.    159          

      (D)  THE RECORDS ARE INSPECTED BY EITHER PARTY TO THE        161          

ACTION TO WHICH THE RECORDS PERTAIN OR BY THAT PARTY'S ATTORNEY.   162          

      Section 2.  That existing section 3101.05 of the Revised     165          

Code is hereby repealed.