SALT LAKE CITY — Utah lawmakers are working to remove financial barriers that discourage marriage, introducing several bills aimed at eliminating penalties that affect couples considering tying the knot.
State Representative Melissa Ballard is leading efforts with House Bill 210, which seeks to eliminate marriage penalties that particularly impact lower-income couples receiving government assistance.
"The incentive is there for people to eliminate that cliff of I'm getting all these welfare programs, but if I get married, I'm gonna lose them all," Ballard said. "This really puts them on an equal playing field because we want people to have strong families. We want people to bring their families together and not have tax penalties be a reason why they shouldn't get married."
House Joint Resolution 18 asks Congress to eliminate the marriage tax penalty at the federal level. Ballard says this burden filters down to states and especially disincentivizes marriage among lower-income populations.
Ballard has also introduced House Bill 103, which makes breaking Utah's underage marriage laws a third-degree felony. "With social media and predators enticing minors, this is a way for Utah law to really have teeth and be strengthened, but most importantly, to protect the minors in our state from those who are trying to go around marriage laws in Utah," Ballard said.
House Bill 324 increases funding for the Utah Marriage Commission through online marriage application fees. The funding supports resources throughout the state to strengthen relationships, marriages, and families.
However, the fee is waived for Utahns who complete premarital counseling through the Utah Marriage Commission at strongermarriage.org.
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