New Jersey Assembly Wants To Lift 3 Day Waiting Period For Marriage Licenses
By David Madden
TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) - A New Jersey Assembly committee has cleared a plan that lifts a three-day waiting period for marriage licenses to be issued. But it's unclear at this point if the measure will become the law of the land.
To the main sponsor of the legislation, Cherry Hill Democrat Lou Greenwood, it's a no-brainer. 27 other states allow for marriage licenses on demand. A change in New Jersey would be a boost to the tourist trade.
"In today's technological age, to ask families to wait 72 hours, there is a sign, I think, that we can do better and we can compete in this marketplace."
Opponents suggest that there are better ways to create jobs and tax revenue than what one member of the budget committee labeled "drive by weddings".
The measure now goes to the full Assembly for a vote Monday, the last day before a new legislature is seated. But the Senate has yet to vote on a plan now in committee and if that doesn't change by Monday, the effort will have to begin anew.
