Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

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Marriage license fee hike would fund domestic violence programs

Half of all Clark County homicides are related to domestic violence, Attorney General Catherine Masto told a legislative committee Monday.

Masto was testifying before the Senate Finance Committee in support of a bill to raise the marriage license fee to fund programs to combat domestic violence.

Senate Bill 14 would boost the marriage license fee from $20 to $25. The cost of a license now is $55, of which $20 of that goes to domestic violence programs that provide shelter, hot lines and support groups.

Estelle Murphy, director of Safe Nest in Las Vegas, told the committee the number of domestic violence cases it handles has doubled in the last 10 years.

Safe Nest supplied 39,000 bed nights for battered women and children last year, while its budget fell from $1.7 million to $1.2 million, she said. Murphy expects the budget to decline another 8-10 percent this year.

Margaret Flint, representing wedding chapels in Las Vegas and Reno, testified against the bill. Chapels “could probably live” with a $5 increase but oppose a $10 hike that some domestic violence advocates have suggested.

The number of marriages licenses issued in the last two years in Clark County fell by 17,500 and in Washoe County by 3,507, Flint noted.

Flint backed a compromise that called for increasing the fee for a certified copy of the marriage license from the present $10 to $17. The increase would be divided with $5 going to the domestic violence programs and $2 to stay with the county clerk for administrative expenses.

The committee did not take action on the bill sponsored by Assemblywoman Bernice Mathews, D-Reno.

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