Love is in the air at the state Capitol, specifically in a bill that increases the cost of a Hawaii marriage license by 80 percent, or to $90 from $50. Marriage license fee
hike clears Senate panelMinisters take issue with the
proposed cost of registrationBy Pat Omandam
pomandam@starbulletin.comThe proposal (SB2760, SD1), approved yesterday by a joint Senate committee, is part of Gov. Ben Cayetano's attempt to overhaul the way marriage licenses are issued here.
Under the current system, couples who marry in Hawaii wait as long as four months for their marriage license to be issued because of the cumbersome paper-based registration system.
The state wants to raise fees and use the additional money to upgrade to a computer system that would streamline the process so marriage licenses can be issued in a few days.
Computerization would also allow the state to annually track officiants who perform or solemnize marriages, which are done differently in each county.
A portion of the higher fees would go toward a state birth defects program.
At a joint Senate hearing yesterday, most who testified did not object to raising the license fee to $90. Instead, they opposed language in the bill that required those who perform weddings to pay a $100 fee and to register with the state annually.
"Often, in the course of a year, I do not even make $100 from weddings. This year, I made $95," the Rev. John Vaughn testified.
"However, I do not think that it is fair to charge those of us who see the marriage ceremony as a sacred ministry in the same way as those who perform marriages for profit," he said.
Vaughn said many ministers like himself will not perform a wedding without some premarital counseling. While there are people who treat marriage-officiating as a business, many others see the solemn ceremony as a way to help a couple begin a marriage, he said.
Errol J. Christian of the Hawaii Catholic Conference likened the proposed fee to legislators having to pay a fee to vote.
Christian said the Honolulu diocese has some 200 priests and 50 deacons who perform marriages, and the $25,000 a year it would have to pay could instead help the poor and less fortunate in our communities.
The Hawaii State Trial Judges Association testified the measure, if not amended, would deprive the public of a warm and meaningful alternative for those who do not want to be married in a religious ceremony.
Senate Minority Leader Sam Slom (R, Kalama Valley-Aina Haina) complained that the bill raises fees for everyone involved in a marriage but does not change the bureaucratic hassle that comes with it from state and county government.
"If it looks like a tax, smells like a tax, it's a tax," Slom said.
Senate Health and Human Services Chairman David Matsuura (D, Hilo) said the bill is a work in progress.
He said the measure will be amended to lower the fee to $1 from $100. Also, officiants will be allowed to renew their licenses every five years, not annually.
The bill moves toward the Senate Ways and Means Committee for consideration. A similar version already exists in the state House.
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