I have been invited to the Smart Marriages Conference, sponsored by the Coalition for Marriage, Couples and Family Education, to speak about the successful pro-family, pro-marriage bills that I have chief authored and are now law. About 2,000 people are expected to attend from across the U.S., plus several foreign countries. The conference will be in Dallas, Tx., from July 8-11. I will be speaking about four bills I chief-authored that are now law. 1. Pre-Marriage Education: This law, passed in 2001, requires 12 hours of class time with an emphasis on developing communication and conflict management skills. The course must also include a pre-marriage inventory to identify points of conflict. Couples that complete this twelve hour class can purchase their marriage license for $20. The regular cost of a Minnesota marriage license is currently $80, and after July 1st it will cost $85. About one-fourth of couples married in Minnesota during the last two years are meeting this pre-marriage education requirement and are buying their license for $20. Research shows that the divorce rate is cut in half, as measured at the five-year mark, if a couple takes this class. In March, a meeting was held in New York City with 60 leaders of the movement to promote healthy marriages in the U.S. – a group representing a broad spectrum of professional and religious leaders. The goal was to generate a common mission statement and set of priorities for the next decade. One of the four priorities agreed to was to promote comprehensive pre-marriage education legislation in all 50 states, based on the Minnesota model, which was described as the “gold standard” and should set the standard for the nation. Concern was expressed that some states are passing watered-down versions of the Minnesota law. 2. Minnesota Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood Initiative: This program, established and funded this year, is designed to encourage unmarried parents to get married and form a permanent family. Couples over age 18 with no history of abuse will be offered this nurturing counseling program at the hospital when their child is delivered. At this time the couple often is still in love and with assistance is more likely to form a permanent family. If they wait, often times with the stress of child rearing, the unmarried mother and father drift apart in the weeks and months after delivery and no permanent family is formed. Unfortunately, those who lose the most in these scenarios are the children. This program will be funded through a $1 million grant from the federal government and $500,000 from the state. 3. Pre-Divorce Education: This bill, also signed into law this year, seeks to enhance an existing program that requires pre-divorce education for couples with minor children in contested divorces. The current program covers 25 subjects that the judicial system has identified that are important for divorcing parents to know. The best program available is the 12 hours class called Parents Forever, and is used in 65 counties. Some of the remaining 22 counties use programs that are as short as four hours. The legislation approved this year increases the time to a minimum of eight hours and encourages all parents with minor children to attend as early in the divorce process as possible. 4. Personal Financial Management: For the past six years I have chief authored a bill that required personal financial management classes as a standard for high school graduation. This year, I’m pleased to report, this requirement became part of the economics strand of the new social studies standards passed into law. Understanding money is important because it is the most common conflict point in marriage. It’s also important in helping our citizens with their personal economic development. Hopefully in the future, more people can stay happily married, accumulate wealth, pay taxes, take care of themselves and demand less of government.
Steve Dille (R-Dassel) is serving his fourth term in the Minnesota Senate. Senate District 18, which he serves, includes the Annandale-South Haven area. Dille can be reached at 651-296-4131, by mail at 103 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155, or via e-mail at sen.steve.dille@senate.mn.
