State Lawmakers Can Help You Say ‘I Do’

BROOKLYN — Looking for someone to officiate your wedding? Consider your local state lawmaker.

New York State Gov. Cuomo signed legislation to allow state legislatures the authority to officiate weddings. And they have to do it for free. The bill, S8298 gives all members of the state Senate and members of the Assembly the authority to officiate weddings, Times Union first reported.  State Sen. Patrick M. Gallivan, an Upstate Republican, sponsored the bill and Cuomo signed it on December 21st making the measure effective immediately.

Some lawmakers are already offering the service.

“Happy to Report that as a new Assemblymember of the State of New York, I can now, um, officiate weddings,” Assemblymember Mathylde Frontus posted this Sunday, December 23. “Don’t ask me all at once, but I’m here if you need me,” she added.

State lawmakers will join the host of distinguished New Yorkers already able to officiate. They include: clergy, current and former mayors and governors, leaders of the Society of Ethical Culture, retired and practicing federal, state and local judges, the clerk of the Appellate Division of the First or Second Department and the borough’s county clerks.

Cuomo and past governors won the right to officiate weddings June 24, 2015 after legislatures approved the last-minute Amendment. The bill was tucked into a group of measures involving standardized testing and housing regulations.