SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2023        FILED ON: 1/20/2023

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 975

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Barry R. Finegold

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to the process for amending marriage certificates.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2023        FILED ON: 1/20/2023

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 975

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

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An Act relative to the process for amending marriage certificates.

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

Section 13 of chapter 46 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after subsection (k) the following subsection:-

(l) (1) If a person has completed medical intervention for the purpose of permanent sex reassignment, the marriage record of that person shall be amended to permanently and accurately reflect the reassigned sex if the following documents have been received by the state registrar or town clerk:

(i) an affidavit executed by the person to whom the record relates attesting, under penalty of perjury, that: (A) the affiant’s gender differs from the sex designated on the original marriage record, if such gender is so recorded; and (B) that the marriage is still legally intact;

(ii) a physician's notarized statement that the person has completed medical intervention, appropriate for that individual, for the purpose of permanent sex reassignment and is not of the sex recorded on the record; and

(iii) a notarized statement from the spouse named on the marriage record to be amended consenting to the amendment.

(2) The affiant shall furnish a certified copy of the legal change of name if the affiant is seeking a marriage record with the legal change of name instead of the name as appearing on the marriage record prior to the amendment.