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Bill would let counties raise optional marriage-license fee to support family-resource centers
Summary
House Bill 1600 would increase the statutory cap on an optional county marriage-license fee from $15 to $30 to expand funding available for family support centers and related programs; testimony highlighted the bill’s optional nature and presented differing counts of counties currently using the fee.
House Bill 1600 would raise the maximum county option marriage‑license fee that can be devoted to family services from $15 to $30, committee staff reported.
John Kim, committee staff, told the panel the fee is an optional local fee counties may adopt and noted the bill passed the House 72–23. Representative Carolyn Eslic, the bill sponsor, said the fee funds family resource centers and other prevention services and that many such centers used an earlier $15 fee successfully for years.
“Family resource centers are prevention,” Eslic said, adding that during COVID the centers were “instrumental in keeping families together” and that timber‑impacted communities in her district benefited from early funding.
Nathan Cook of the Washington Family Support Network testified in favor and gave updated figures: according to the network’s 2023 survey, 28 of 39 counties collected an optional family‑services fee that year, generating $623,000 in revenue. At the same time, the sponsor said on the record in committee there were 25 counties using the fee; the transcript therefore includes both figures from different witnesses.
Staff and witnesses emphasized that the fee is optional for county legislative authorities, that county auditors do not retain a portion of the fee, and that a fiscal note is available. No committee vote was taken during the public hearing portion of the meeting.
