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SENATE BILL NO. 213
IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE - SECOND SESSION
BY SENATOR BEGICH
Introduced: 2/21/20
Referred: Judiciary, State Affairs
A BILL
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED
1 "An Act relating to the crime of coercion; and relating to the minimum age of eligibility
2 for marriage."
3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:
4 * Section 1. AS 11.41.530(a) is amended to read:
5 (a) A person commits the crime of coercion if the person
6 (1) compels another to engage in conduct from which there is a legal
7 right to abstain or abstain from conduct in which there is a legal right to engage, by
8 means of instilling in the person who is compelled a fear that, if the demand is not
9 complied with, the person who makes the demand or another may
10 (A) [(1)] inflict physical injury on anyone, except under
11 circumstances constituting robbery in any degree, or commit any other crime;
12 (B) [(2)] accuse anyone of a crime;
13 (C) [(3)] expose confidential information or a secret, whether
14 true or false, tending to subject a person to hatred, contempt, or ridicule or to
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1 impair the person's credit or business repute;
2 (D) [(4)] take or withhold action as a public servant or cause a
3 public servant to take or withhold action;
4 (E) [(5)] bring about or continue a strike, boycott, or other
5 collective unofficial action, if the property is not demanded or received for the
6 benefit of the group in whose interest the person making the threat or
7 suggestion purports to act;
8 (F) [(6)] testify or provide information or withhold testimony
9 or information with respect to a person's legal claim or defense; or
10 (2) compels or induces another person to enter into a marriage
11 without consent.
12 * Sec. 2. AS 11.41.530(b) is amended to read:
13 (b) It is a defense to a prosecution under (a)(1)(B), (C), or (D) [(a)(2), (3), OR
14 (4)] of this section that the defendant reasonably believed that the accusation or
15 exposure was true or that the lawsuit or other invocation of official action was justified
16 and that the defendant's sole intent was to compel or induce the victim to take
17 reasonable action to correct the wrong that is the subject of the accusation, exposure,
18 lawsuit, or invocation of official action or to refrain from committing an offense.
19 * Sec. 3. AS 25.05.011(a) is amended to read:
20 (a) Marriage is a civil contract entered into by two natural persons [ONE
21 MAN AND ONE WOMAN] that requires both a license and solemnization. Each
22 person shall [THE MAN AND THE WOMAN MUST EACH] be at least one of the
23 following:
24 (1) 18 years of age or older and otherwise capable;
25 (2) emancipated under AS 09.55.590 [QUALIFIED FOR A
26 LICENSE UNDER AS 25.05.171]; or
27 (3) a member of the armed forces of the United States while on active
28 duty.
29 * Sec. 4. AS 25.20.020 is amended to read:
30 Sec. 25.20.020. Arrival at majority upon marriage. A person arrives at the
31 age of majority upon being married according to law [, UNLESS THE PERSON IS
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1 UNDER THE MARRIAGEABLE AGE OF CONSENT AS DEFINED IN
2 AS 25.05.171(a), IN WHICH CASE THE PERSON REACHES MAJORITY UPON
3 REACHING THE MARRIAGEABLE AGE OF CONSENT].
4 * Sec. 5. AS 25.05.171 is repealed.
5 * Sec. 6. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to
6 read:
7 APPLICABILITY. This Act applies to a person married on or after the effective date
8 of this Act.
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Statutes affected:
SB0213A, AM SB 213, introduced 02/21/2020: 11.41.530, 25.05.011, 09.55.590, 25.05.171, 25.20.020