Marriage license fee increase proposed

Marriage license fees would increase in Nebraska under a bill heard by the Judiciary Committee Jan 21.

LB88, sponsored by Lincoln Sen. Kathy Campbell, would increase the fee charged by counties from $15 to $50 for issuing and recording marriage licenses and to administer oaths or affirmations for marriage. The bill also would increase the fee charged by counties from $5 to $16 to make a certified copy of a marriage record.

Campbell said that Nebraska county officials requested the fee increases because their administrative costs have not been adjusted since 1995. She said the proposed licensing fee increase would allow counties to cover their administrative costs, which the officials estimated to be $55 per document.

Dan Nolte, Lancaster County Clerk, testified in support of the bill. He said his office processes more than 2,000 marriage licenses a year, with most of his staff’s time spent retrieving data from couples who make errors on their forms.

“Those follow-up calls take a lot of time,” Nolte said.

Beth Bazyn Ferrell, representing the Nebraska Association of County Officials, also spoke in support of the bill. She said the county fees for issuing copies of marriage documents should be increased to make them consistent with the price charged by state offices, which increased to $16 in 2014.

No one spoke in opposition to the bill and the committee took no immediate action on it.