Announcements

All of the legislation that JPus has been following has wrapped up for the 2020 spring session. A summary of each follows.

Amateur Officiants

Massachusetts

The Resolve for a commission study to evaluate the one-day solemnizer rule passed out of committee favorably at the end of February. But, then it got stuck and died in March. In order to plan for next year, we’ve spoken with Senator Cyr’s office and requested that the bill be resubmitted in January. More about our work to address one-day solemnizer problems.

New Hampshire

After the special marriage officiant bill died in the House, it was revived as an amendment in the Senate. Under guise of the pandemic, no head’s up was given to constituents. The language allowing lay officiants was attached to a sure-to-pass bill that protected children from sexual assault. Even worse, the senators were coy when introducing the floor amendment, neglecting to share the existing controversy about it. It passed and is on its way to the Governor. He won’t veto the bill, but we’re in discussions to have an executive order to stop implementation of the temporary officiant parts. We also submitted an op-ed reiterating our ask to Governor Sununu. The details are in the nitty-gritty backstory.

Child Marriage

Massachusetts

All non-covid legislation is on hold in the state, and that includes S2294, An Act to End Child Marriage. JPus has been involved, as a member of the Massachusetts Coalition to End Child Marriage, and submitting testimony in support of the legislation. Read about our activity.

New Hampshire

The bill to end child marriage in New Hampshire passed the House of Representatives, but then got tabled in June before being heard in the Senate. It will be resubmitted for the 2021 session. Read about JPus’ support of this bill.

Pennsylvania

With a unanimous vote, Pennsylvania ended child marriage in the state. Governor Wolf signed it into law on May 8th, 2020! Four states down, 46 to go. JPus submitted testimony in support of the legislation.

We are pleased to announce that the Justice of the Peace Association’s Code of Ethics has been revised and updated to better reflect our organization’s values. The Code of Ethics sets the standards of conduct and makes clear what the expectations are for professional marriage officiants who choose to belong to our association.
The language we’ve always used required members to act in clients’ best interest and in ways that reflect favorably on themself and others. Even so, we saw a need to be more explicit. This update is just one aspect of our efforts to be a part of the solution to eradicate racism and discrimination.
At the onset, we strove to be transparent and involve membership in the process. Therefore, on June 8th we invited members to review and comment on a draft version of the revised Code of Ethics. This was done by posting an announcement on the JPus website, by email, and through our social media accounts. Every comment and suggestion was thoughtfully considered. During our process we differentiated between a code of conduct and best practices. Guidance on best practices is offered through professional development and training material. Thank you to everyone who took the time to provide feedback. We appreciate both the voices of confidence, and the tips for improvement.

Related Links

★ The updated Code of Ethics
★ The prior Code of Ethics
★ The rules governing enforcement of violations to the Code of Ethics are explained in our Terms of Use Policy
★ Issues that JPus is an active voice for are on our Advocacy page