Session Laws

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 39 of chapter 207 of the General Laws, as most recently amended by section 1 of chapter 112 of the acts of 1983, is hereby further amended by adding the following sentence:- Said certificate shall be attached to the certificate issued under section twenty-eight and filed with the appropriate city or town clerk.

SECTION 2. Said chapter 207 is hereby further amended by striking out section 40, as most recently amended by section 2 of said chapter 112, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 40. Every justice of the peace, minister, rabbi, secretary of a Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is, leader of an Ethical Culture Society, duly ordained priest or minister of the Buddhist religion, Imam of the Orthodox Islamic religion, clerk or keeper of the records of a meeting wherein marriages among Friends or Quakers are solemnized, and any person authorized to solemnize marriages according to the usage of any other church or religious organization which shall have complied with the provisions of the second paragraph of section thirty-eight shall make and keep a record of each marriage solemnized by him, or in such meeting, and of all facts relative to the marriage required to be recorded by section one of chapter forty-six. He shall also return each certificate issued under section twenty-eight no later than the tenth day of the month following each month in which marriages are solemnized by him to the clerk or registrar who issued the same. Each certificate and copy so returned shall contain a statement giving the place and date of marriage, attested by the signature of the person who solemnized the same, or of said secretary of a Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is or of said leader of an Ethical Culture Society, or of said duly ordained priest or minister of the Buddhist religion, or Imam of the Orthodox Islamic religion, or of said clerk or keeper of the records of a Friends or Quaker Monthly Meeting or any person authorized to solemnize marriages according to the usage of any other church or religious organization which shall have complied with the provisions of the second paragraph of section thirty-eight. The person who solemnized the marriage shall add the title of the office by virtue of which the marriage was solemnized, as "justice of the peace", "minister of the gospel", "clergyman", "priest", "rabbi", "authorized representative of a Spiritual Assembly", "leader of an Ethical Culture Society", or "duly ordained priest or minister of the Buddhist religion", or "Imam of the Orthodox Islamic religion", or other appropriate title, and his residence. All certificates or copies so returned shall be recorded by the clerk or registrar receiving them.

SECTION 3. Said chapter 207 is hereby further amended by striking out section 42, as most recently amended by section 3 of said chapter 112, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 42. A marriage solemnized by a person professing to be a justice of the peace having authority to solemnize marriages, a minister of the gospel or a rabbi, the leader of an Ethical Culture Society, a duly ordained priest or minister of the Buddhist religion, the Imam of the Orthodox Islamic religion, the authorized representative of a Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is, by a Friends or Quaker Monthly Meeting, or any person authorized to solemnize marriages according to the usage of any other church or religious organization which shall have complied with the provisions of the second paragraph of section thirty-eight, shall not be void, nor shall the validity thereof be in any way affected by want of authority in such person or society, or by an omission or by informality in the manner of filing the notice of intention, if the marriage is in other respects lawful and is consummated with a full belief of either of the persons so married that they have been lawfully married.