Bill Would Strengthen Marriage Contract Measure Would Require Couples To Seek Counseling Before Divorce Could Be Granted

Marriage would be treated with the seriousness of a business contract - and thereby would be harder to break - under a bill introduced as the legislative session opened Monday.

The measure, filed by Sen. Val Stevens, would require couples with children to work with mediators and counselors to see if the marriage could be saved before a court could grant a divorce.

The Washington Family Council, a conservative Bellevue-based group headed by former football star Jeff Kemp, helped Stevens draft Senate Bill 6193.

“It lifts up the importance of the covenant they (couples) made under the law and asks them to make proper steps to resolve, strengthen and heal the relationship before breaking the union,” Kemp said Monday. “We’re looking for the law to give the same weight of contract enforcement to the most important contract around, the marriage contract, that we give to business contracts.”

Stevens, an Arlington Republican and one of the Senate’s most conservative members, said statistics show children in single-parent households are more likely to get in trouble. Making couples try harder to “get along” could help, she said.

Her bill would allow exceptions for couples dealing with such problems as domestic violence, alcoholism, prison, sexually transmitted disease and infidelity. Those marriages would be allowed to end quickly.

Stevens isn’t the only lawmaker interested in strengthening the marriage bond.

Sen. Bob Oke, R-Port Orchard, filed a bill last week that would allow couples to enter into a “covenant marriage” as an alternative to the conventional marriage contract.

Under SB 6135, couples who chose a covenant marriage would undergo premarital counseling and sign a pledge attesting they understand they’re embarking on a lifelong commitment. Divorce would be granted only “for cause,” such as adultery or abuse.

Other bills filed as the session got started include:

SB 6137, sponsored by Oke, which would make it a misdemeanor for minors to possess tobacco. Current law only covers the sale of tobacco products to minors.

“It is the Legislature’s intent that youth hear consistent messages from public entities, including law enforcement, about public opposition to their illegal use of tobacco products,” Oke wrote.

SB 6190, which would crack down on people who intentionally provide false information when applying for a disabled parking permit. Another bill sponsored by Oke, this measure would make the penalty one year in jail and a $5,000 fine.

SB 6177, which would require that people who gather signatures for initiatives be registered voters of Washington state. That bill, filed by Sen. Darlene Fairley, D-Lake Forest Park, comes on the heels of a controversy that occurred when sponsors of an initiative to roll back affirmative action brought in black signature-gatherers from other states.

Senate bills 6162, 6163 and 6164, which would strictly regulate mobile home parks. Sponsored by Sen. Margarita Prentice, D-Seattle, the package would require mobile home parks to register with the state and justify rental rates.