NJ A4545

Designated as "Linnette Lebron's Law," allows the mandatory 72-hour waiting period for marriage or civil union licenses to be waived when a hospitalized party is terminally ill, upon certification by the treating physician

Permits a terminally ill person to obtain a marriage or civil union license through an attorney-in-fact with a notarized power of attorney, rather than appearing in person before the licensing officer

Allows both parties to use attorneys-in-fact, or alternatively, enables couples to complete the licensing process via telephone conference with the licensing officer while a witness of legal age is present with the contracting parties

Defines "terminally ill" as having an illness or injury reasonably expected to result in death within 12 months as determined by the treating physician

Named after Linnette Lebron, a Camden resident whose husband-to-be had to leave her hospital bedside in 2015 to seek a court waiver of the waiting period; they married in the hospital and she died the next day