MA One-Day Solemnizer Resolve

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In the 2021 session of the General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Senator Anne Gobi sponsored a Resolve to evaluate the state’s temporary officiant rule. Previously, during the 2019 session, Senator Julian Cyr sponsored a similar Resolve. 

Resolve S.2063 – 1-Day Solemnizers

To form a special commission to investigate and study the effects of Massachusetts’s one-day solemnizer rule on JPs, 1-Day solemnizers, or people who have been married by either.

Commission Members:

  • The secretary of state or a designee, whom shall serve as chair of the special commission;
  • One member of the senate, whom shall be appointed by the senate president;
  • One member of the house, whom shall be appointed by the speaker;
  • The commissioner of public health or a designee from the registry of vital records and statistics;
  • One of whom shall be a justice of the probate and family court;
  • One of whom shall be a representative of the Massachusetts Town Clerks Association;
  • One of whom shall be a representative of the Massachusetts Municipal Association;
  • One of whom shall be a representative of the Justice of the Peace Association;
  • Three persons appointed by the governor, two of whom have participated as a one-day solemnizer, and one of whom serves as a justice of the peace.

Scope of Investigation:

The special commission shall investigate and study the effects of Massachusetts’ one-day solemnizer rule, including but not limited to implementation of chapter 207, section 39 of the General Laws, the integrity of the Commonwealth’s marriage certificate, the increased demand for marriages performed by one-solemnizers, availability of justices of the peace in the Commonwealth, opportunities for collaboration between justices of the peace and one-day solemnizers, the code of ethics governing justices of the peace and one-day solemnizers.

All appointments shall be made not later than 30 days after the effective date of this resolve. The chair shall meet with the commission not later than 60 days after the effective date of this resolve.

Members shall not receive compensation for their services but may receive reimbursement for the reasonable expenses incurred in carrying out their responsibilities as members of the commission.

Not later than October 15, 2021, the commission shall report to the general court the result of its investigation and study and its recommendations, if any, together with drafts of legislation necessary to carry its recommendations into effect by filing the same with the clerk of the house of representatives and the clerk of the senate.

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