This bill proposes to lower the marriage age of consent to 17 for individuals where at least one party is on active duty in the military, provided certain conditions are met. Specifically, the bill amends RSA 457:5 to state that the age of consent is 17 if one party is a member of the armed forces at the time of applying for a marriage license, the other party is at least 17 years old, and at least one party is a resident of New Hampshire. Additionally, if the non-military party is 17, they must obtain written permission from a parent or legal guardian to marry. The bill also clarifies that this change does not alter any existing requirements for obtaining a marriage license under RSA 5-C:42.

Furthermore, the bill removes outdated language regarding age waivers for marriage registration records, as such waivers are no longer issued in New Hampshire. This is reflected in the amendments to RSA 457:4 and RSA 5-C:42, which now specify that no person below the age of 18 can contract a valid marriage, except as provided in the newly amended RSA 457:5. The effective date of the bill is set for 60 days after its passage.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 457:5, 457:4, 5-C:42