MARRIAGE REWARDS PROPOSED

State Rep. Pat Kelley wants the state to reward parental responsibility and marriage and discourage divorce.

Kelley, a Methodist minister from Lee's Summit, on Thursday introduced the Family Responsibility and Marriage Restoration Act.

The bill declares that the state's public policy is to encourage chastity before marriage and faithfulness in marriage. It also states that marriage is a commitment for life, and parents are responsible for raising their children.

The Republican lawmaker's bill would provide financial incentives to couples who don't have children out of wedlock, and it would make it more difficult for couples to divorce.

Eleven lawmakers, all Republicans, have signed onto the measure. None of the lawmakers is from Southeast Missouri.

"We believe that in the past too often our public policy has rewarded people for not getting married, for having children out of wedlock," Kelley said.

He acknowledged it will be difficult to pass the bill this year. But Kelley said he hopes the bill will stimulate public debate on strengthening marriages.

About 40,000 marriages occur annually in Missouri. Kelley said many of those couples wouldn't qualify for the financial incentives in his bill.

Kelley estimated his bill could apply to about 20,000 marriages. At $1,000 a couple, the marriage bonus would cost the state $20 million a year. A $200 tax credit to married parents with minor children could cost the state as much as $100 million a year, Kelley said.

His measure would save money in the long run because the state wouldn't have to spend so much money on social services and state prisons, he said.

Missouri spends $4 billion a year in social services alone, Kelley said.

State Rep. Joe Heckemeyer, D-Sikeston, said Kelley's intentions are good. "But these matters he is trying to address are far more complicated than the simple Band-Aid approach he is taking," Heckemeyer said.

Kelley would have filed the bill earlier if he were intent on passing it this session, Heckemeyer said. Heckemeyer called the proposal impractical and difficult to enforce.

Rep. Patrick Naeger, R-Perryville welcomed the overall concept of Kelley's bill. "It is time government starts to reward people for behaving properly and provides incentives for good, moral actions," said Naeger. "There is nothing wrong with that."

He said the state rewards people for irresponsible behavior. "If you are a teen-ager and pregnant and don't have a job, we give you free health care," Naeger said.

Kelley's bill has no chance of passing in the Democratic-controlled Legislature, Naeger said.

The Rev. Arthur Hunt of Christ Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Cape Girardeau agreed with the philosophy of Kelley's bill. Hunt said it would be better for the state to spend money to encourage solid marriages with a view toward preventing future social problems.

"It is always better to put oil in the engine before it burns up rather than after," said Hunt.

Hunt's church operates DivorceCare, which attempts to help people who are going through a divorce or separation.

He said children often suffer in a divorce. They want their parents to stay together.

Hunt said the financial incentives in Kelley's bill wouldn't be needed in a perfect world, but the world isn't perfect.

"From a Christian or biblical framework, divorce should be the last option, not the first," he said.

MARRIAGE RESTORATION ACT

A Missouri House bill filed Thursday would:

-- Encourage counseling before marriage.

-- Require couples getting married to sign a covenant making a commitment to stay married, take responsibility for their children and seek divorce only as a last resort.

-- Pay $1,000 to a couple who get married, if they are 21 or older, have never been married before, don't have a sexually transmitted disease, haven't had a child, haven't had an abortion and don't have a criminal record.

-- Provide a $200 tax credit for married parents with minor children. The credit would be offered each year that the children are in school, provided the family isn't on public assistance, and they don't have a criminal record.

-- Require fault, such as domestic violence, drug or alcohol problems, to be shown before a judge grants a divorce.

-- Impose a $1,000 fee on the person whose actions provided grounds for the divorce.