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8 LONG TITLE
9 General Description:
10 This resolution recognizes and commends the work of the Utah Marriage Commission
11 for 25 years of strengthening marriages in Utah.
12 Highlighted Provisions:
13 This resolution:
14 ▸ recognizes the importance of healthy and strong marriages to the well-being of
15 individuals, families, and communities;
16 ▸ acknowledges the challenges facing Utahns wanting to form and sustain a strong
17 marriage; and
18 ▸ recognizes the educational work of the Utah Marriage Commission over the past 25
19 years to help Utah couples form and sustain healthy relationships and stronger
20 marriages.
21 Special Clauses:
22 None
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24 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah, the Governor concurring therein:
25 WHEREAS, marriage is a fundamental social institution supporting the well-being of
26 society;
27 WHEREAS, a healthy marriage is one of the strongest predictors of personal happiness;
28 WHEREAS, strong marriages provide the optimal social and economic environment for
29 rearing children;
30 WHEREAS, a strong institution of marriage makes for a stronger Utah;
31 WHEREAS, marriage and fertility rates have been falling substantially in the United
32 States and in Utah;
33 WHEREAS, many social and economic forces, as well as cultural headwinds, make
34 forming and sustaining a healthy marriage in contemporary society challenging, especially for
35 more disadvantaged young adults;
36 WHEREAS, former Utah Governor Michael O. Leavitt established a formal Utah
37 Marriage Commission in 1998 to help support stronger marriages in Utah, with former First
38 Lady Jacalyn S. Leavitt playing a formative role in the early years of the Commission;
39 WHEREAS, the Utah Marriage Commission has served Utah for 25 years, providing
40 easy access through its website StrongerMarrige.org to research-based educational resources to
41 strengthen marriages and remarriages, including evidence-based online courses, podcasts,
42 webinars, blogs, videos, and guidebooks;
43 WHEREAS, these free educational resources have reached hundreds of thousands of
44 Utahns over the past 25 years;
45 WHEREAS, the quantity and quality of these educational resources is accelerating;
46 WHEREAS, the Utah Marriage Commission also has supported legislation designed to
47 help support couples' efforts to form and sustain healthy marriages and remarriages, including
48 an incentive for engaged couples to participate in premarital education; and
49 WHEREAS, the Utah Marriage Commission receives excellent support and effective
50 day-to-day leadership from Utah State University Extension, with its mission of taking the
51 research to the people:
52 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah, the
53 Governor concurring therein, recognizes and commends the work of the Utah Marriage
54 Commission over the last 25 years helping couples form and sustain healthy relationships and
55 stronger marriages and for its efforts to strengthen the institution of marriage in Utah.
56 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah and the
57 Governor look forward to the continued success of the Commission to make Utah the best state
58 in the nation in which to raise a family.