Creating the elevated marriage Act, providing for a tax credit, paid parental leave, and the creation of and appropriations from an elevated marriage trust fund

Division I of the bill specifies the recitation to be included in a declaration of intent to enter into an elevated marriage and requires that the declaration of intent completed by the parties shall be filed with the county registrar, and accompanied by an affidavit of the parties that they have received authorized counseling and an attestation signed by the person who provided the authorized counseling confirming that the parties received authorized counseling. The declaration of intent and the required attachments shall be prepared in duplicate originals, one of which shall be retained by the parties and the other of which shall be filed with the county registrar of the county in which the parties applied for a license to marry. Division I of the bill also provides a process for married parties to redesignate their marriage as an elevated marriage. Division I of the bill requires the office of the attorney general to develop an informational pamphlet entitled “Elevated Marriage Act” that outlines in sufficient detail the requirements for entering into an elevated marriage or redesignating an existing marriage as an elevated marriage, the implications of entering into an elevated marriage, and the legal differences between an elevated marriage and a marriage under current law. The informational pamphlet shall be made available to all offices of the county registrar and to all persons who provide authorized counseling under this Code chapter. Division I of the bill provides exclusive grounds for dissolution of an elevated marriage involving the welfare of a minor child and the process for such dissolution, and provides grounds for obtaining a decree of legal separation from an elevated marriage. Division I of the bill provides that an elevated marriage is governed by all of the provisions of Code chapter 595 (marriage) and Code chapter 598 (dissolution of marriage and domestic relations) which do not conflict with the provisions of the bill. Division I of the bill creates an elevated marriage trust fund in the state treasury under the control of the department of human services, consisting of the moneys transferred by the department of human services to the trust fund, annually. Moneys in the trust fund are appropriated and shall be used for the payment of tax credits and for reimbursement for parental leave as provided in Division II of the bill. The treasurer of state, the director of the department of revenue, the director of the department of human services, and the labor commissioner shall jointly adopt rules for the transfer, deposit, distribution, and use of moneys in the trust fund. Division II of the bill entitles an employee who is the parent of a newborn child and is a party to an elevated marriage, in addition to any other leave available to the parent of a newborn child, to an additional four weeks of paid leave following the birth of such child. Costs of such leave shall be reimbursed through expenditure of moneys deposited in the elevated marriage trust fund. Division II of the bill also provides for a tax credit for a party to an elevated marriage in the amount of $1,000 for the first child born to the taxpayer. The tax credit is reimbursed through expenditure of moneys deposited in the elevated marriage trust fund. The department of revenue is directed to adopt rules to administer the provision. Division III of the bill makes conforming changes to facilitate the filing of the declaration of intent and the return of the certificate of marriage for an elevated marriage and for transfer of funds to the elevated marriage trust fund.