It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 15-2-3 of the General Laws in Chapter 15-2 entitled "Marriage Licenses" is hereby repealed in its entirety:

{DEL 15-2-3. Physical examination and blood test regulations. -- HIV test offer. -- DEL} {DEL (a) Except as otherwise provided in section 15-2-10, no license shall be issued by a town or city clerk until there shall be in the possession of the town or city clerk a statement or statements, upon a form provided by the department of health, signed by a licensed physician, that each applicant has submitted to a physical examination. These statements shall be accompanied by a record containing the exact name and address of the applicant. Said examination shall be conducted in accordance with regulations adopted by the department of health which regulations may include any standard laboratory blood tests the department of health may require.

(b) As part of the physical examination, the physician or health care provider shall offer testing for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). All such testing shall be performed in accordance with sections 23-6-17 and 23-6-18. The identity of the individuals tested under this section shall be maintained only at the site where the sample is drawn, and shall not be released except as otherwise provided by statute.

When each applicant is offered such a test he or she shall be provided with an "Aids Testing and Notification Form" which he or she shall sign and date in acknowledgement of said offer. The form shall clearly state that the department of health does not have the authority to require mandatory AIDS testing as a prerequisite to obtaining a marriage license.

(c) The department of health shall be responsible for reasonable costs associated with performing and reporting the results of the HIV tests. The department of health will provide pre-test and post-test educational materials and provide post-test counseling for the HIV positive persons in accordance with regulations adopted by the department of health; provided, however, that said counseling shall be in accordance with acceptable medical standards. DEL}

SECTION 2. Section 15-2-10 of the General Laws in Chapter 15-2 entitled "Marriage Licenses" is hereby amended to read as follows:

{ADD 15-2-10. Waiver of license requirements. -- ADD} No license shall be issued by a town or city clerk except as prescribed by the preceding sections of this chapter unless a justice of the supreme, superior, family, district, or municipal court or the Providence police court, after hearing in chambers such evidence as may be presented, shall render a decision in writing that, in its opinion, public policy or the physical condition of either one of the parties requires the intended marriage to be celebrated without delay. The court shall have power to summon at the hearing such persons as it may deem advisable. The court shall forthwith notify the respective town or city clerk of its determination and shall file a notation of its determination in the office of the clerk of the superior court, but any papers so filed at the office of the clerk shall not be matters of public record and may be examined only upon written authorization of the court. {DEL However, after celebration of the marriage, as herein provided, one or both parties shall be required to submit to physical examination and/or blood tests as soon as feasible, in accordance with section 15-2-3. DEL}

SECTION 3. Chapter 23-1 of the General Laws entitled "Department of Health" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

{ADD 23-1-36.1. Director's duties regarding diseases -- Marriage licenses. -- ADD} {ADD The director of health shall prepare and submit to the clerk's office of each city and town in the state a packet containing all appropriate information relating to any disease, including but not limited to, sexually transmitted diseases or general health issue as the director of health deems necessary, for distribution to all persons applying for a marriage license. Said individual packet shall include an "AIDS Testing and Notification Form" which shall clearly state that the department of health provides confidential HIV tests, at no costs, and further provides pre-test and post-test educational materials and post-test counseling for HIV positive persons in accordance with regulations adopted by the department of health; provided, however, that said counseling shall be in accordance with acceptable medical standards. ADD}

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon passage.