LCAR approves DOC rule aligning marriage ceremonies for incarcerated people with new age statute

Margaret, a policy and implementation analyst with the Department of Corrections, and David Turner, the DOC operations manager, presented amendments to rule 24P34 on Dec. 5 to align the department’s marriage‑ceremony procedure with a statutory change that now requires all parties to be 18 or older. Margaret said marriage is a constitutional right and a liberty interest for incarcerated individuals and that the DOC’s prior rule — which referenced an earlier statutory age structure that allowed marriage at younger ages with parental consent — required updating.

The department explained that town clerks already verify statutory requirements when issuing marriage licenses, and DOC proposed removing redundant staff verification to streamline the process. The revised rule will require DOC to receive a marriage request, assess safety and security and rehabilitation risks, and, once approved, host the ceremony if the incarcerated person later provides a valid marriage license. The department noted licenses are valid for 90 days, which is why the DOC will allow requests to be submitted before a license is in hand to avoid scheduling a ceremony that would later lapse.

No public commenters attended the agency’s Oct. 15 public hearing, the DOC said, and the department received no written public comments during the comment period. Senator Bray moved to approve rule 24P34; the committee approved the rule by voice vote.

The committee recorded the rule’s adoption in the meeting; the DOC said it made no changes after LCAR pre‑filing and that staff and facilities had access to the proposed rule via internal postings.