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Home My WebLink About05 - Announcing Its Commitment to End Child Marriage and to Provide Educational Information Pertaining to Ending Child MarriageQ �EwPpRT CITY OF O � z NEWPORT BEACH <,FORN'P City Council Staff Report October 13, 2020 Agenda Item No. 5 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: Grace K. Leung, City Manager - 949-644-3001, gleung@newportbeachca.gov PREPARED BY: Melanie Franceschini, Administrative Analyst mfranceschini@newportbeachca.gov PHONE: 949-644-3028 TITLE: Resolution No. 2020-86: Announcing Its Commitment to End Child Marriage and Authorizing the City Manager, or Designee, to Provide Educational Information Pertaining to Ending Child Marriage ABSTRACT: The State of California is one of only 13 states, in which there is no minimum age for marriage by statute. Several Orange County cities, including the City of Anaheim and the City of Irvine, have taken action to end child marriage in California by calling upon the California State Legislature to introduce and pass legislation to "End Child Marriage Under 18, No Exceptions" and by informing constituents about letter -writing campaigns supporting this legislation. In response to a request by Council Member Dixon, at its September 22, 2020 meeting, a majority of the Newport Beach City Council supported having this matter placed on a future agenda. Staff has drafted a resolution announcing the City's Commitment to End Child Marriage in California for the Council's consideration. RECOMMENDATION: a) Determine this action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) and 15060(c)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines because this action will not result in a physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly; and b) Adopt Resolution No. 2020-86, A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Newport Beach, California, Announcing Its Commitment to End Child Marriage by Calling for an "End Child Marriage Under 18, No Exceptions" Law and Authorizing the City Manager, or Designee, to Provide Educational Information Pertaining to Ending Child Marriage. 5-1 Resolution No. 2020-86: Announcing Its Commitment to End Child Marriage and Authorizing the City Manager, or Designee, to Provide Educational Information Pertaining to Ending Child Marriage October 13, 2020 Page 2 FUNDING REQUIREMENTS: There is no fiscal impact related to this item. DISCUSSION: A child marriage is defined to be a formal marriage or informal union where one or both individuals are under the age of 18. Every year, minors are coerced and forced into marriages in cities across the United States. The Department of State, UNICEF and Human Rights Watch, consider child marriages to be a human rights abuse. UNICEF USA has stated that "Child marriage harms children, leaving devastating, often permanent, impacts on their health, education and happiness. Child marriage often leads to forfeited education, mental illness, social isolation and serious health risks." Due to the overwhelming evidence of the adverse effects of child marriage on a minor's wellbeing, several local cities and organizations, including the cities of Anaheim and Irvine, have announced their commitment to ending child marriage in California and calling for an "End Child Marriage Under 18, No Exceptions" law. The states of Delaware, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and New Jersey have already passed laws ending child marriage for all minors, without exception. Children in California are at risk of entering into a marriage, before the age of 18, because California is one of only 13 states in which there is no minimum age for marriage by statute. If the Council adopts Resolution No. 2020-86, the City of Newport Beach would join the cities of Anaheim and Irvine in publicly stating that it is a moral imperative and in the best public interest to protect all minors from a child marriage. The City Council would also be calling upon the California State Legislature to introduce and pass legislation to "End Child Marriage Under 18, No Exceptions." In addition, the City would also provide information to the public regarding the various letter -writing campaigns designed to "End Child Marriage Under 18, No Exceptions" and other information opposing the practice of child marriage. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: Staff recommends the City Council find this action is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly. 5-2 Resolution No. 2020-86: Announcing Its Commitment to End Child Marriage and Authorizing the City Manager, or Designee, to Provide Educational Information Pertaining to Ending Child Marriage October 13, 2020 Page 3 NOTICING: The agenda item has been noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of the meeting at which the City Council considers the item). ATTACHMENT: Attachment A — Resolution No. 2020-86 5-3 ATTACHMENT A RESOLUTION NO. 2020-86 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA, ANNOUNCING ITS COMMITMENT TO END CHILD MARRIAGE BY CALLING FOR AN "END CHILD MARRIAGE UNDER 18, NO EXCEPTIONS" LAW AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER, OR DESIGNEE, TO PROVIDE EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION PERTAINING TO ENDING CHILD MARRIAGE WHEREAS, each year minors are coerced and forced into marriages in cities across the United States; WHEREAS, child marriage, a formal marriage or informal union where one or both parties are under the age of 18, is defined as a human rights abuse by the Department of State, UNICEFand Human Rights Watch ("Child Marriage"); WHEREAS, as a member of the United Nations, the United States adopted the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development including a commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development goals, including Goal 5 to "Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls," and specifically target 5.3: "Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage"; WHEREAS, the American Medical Association has called for an end to Child Marriage stating "Child marriage is associated with higher rates of sexually transmitted infections, early pregnancies, divorce, and intimate partner violence than women married at age 21 "; WHEREAS, UNICEF USA has stated that "Child Marriage harms children, leaving devastating, often permanent, impacts on their health, education and happiness. Child marriage often leads to forfeited education, mental illness, social isolation and serious health risks"; WHEREAS, UNICEF USA has also stated that once they're married, minors do not have the legal capacity to get divorced, nor do they have the financial capacity to retain an attorney or support themselves; WHEREAS, a report by the United Nations Population Fund finds that minors in unwanted or abusive marriages suffer social isolation from their support networks like school, friends and family, which contributes to their poor mental health; 5-4 Resolution 2020 - Page 2 of 3 WHEREAS, the United Nations Population Fund report also finds that minors who marry early are more likely to discontinue their formal educations prematurely, which limits their access to better -paid work and decision-making positions outside of the home, WHEREAS, the State of California, is one of only thirteen states, in which there is no minimum age for marriage by statute; WHEREAS, Child Marriage in the United States is not confined to any religious or cultural group; WHEREAS, American children of all backgrounds are at risk in California cities because the law permits marriage before the age of majority; WHEREAS, the overwhelming evidence of adverse effects on the minor's wellbeing and the remaining risk of abusive relationships with older partners calls for an "End Child Marriage Under 18, No Exceptions" law; WHEREAS, the states of Delaware, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey have already passed laws ending Child Marriage for all minors, without exception; and WHEREAS, the City of Newport Beach ("City") has determined that it is a moral imperative and undeniably in the best public interest of the City to protect all minors from Child Marriage. NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Newport Beach resolves as follows: Section 9: The City Council hereby calls on the California State Legislature to introduce and pass legislation to "End Child Marriage Under 18, No Exceptions". Section 2: The City Council hereby calls on other California municipalities to pass resolutions showing their commitment to end Child Marriage. Section 3: The City Council hereby authorizes and directs the City Manager, or designee, to provide information regarding opposing the practice of Child Marriage and make known to City residents the availability of various letter -writing campaigns designed to "End Child Marriage Under 18, No Exceptions" on a state and federal level. Section 4: The recitals provided in this resolution are true and correct and are incorporated into the operative part of this resolution. 5-5 Resolution 2020 - Page 3 of 3 Section 5: If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this resolution is, for any reason, held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity or constitutionality of the remaining portions of this resolution. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this resolution, and each section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase hereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid or unconstitutional. Section 6: The City Council finds the adoption of this resolution is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Division 6, Chapter 3, because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly. Section 7: This resolution shall take effect immediately upon its adoption by the City Council, and the City Clerk shall certify the vote adopting the resolution. ADOPTED this 13th day of October, 2020. Will O'Neill Mayor ATTEST: Leilani I. Brown City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: Cl ATTORNEY'S OFFICE Aaron C. Harp City Attorney W 0» _ O O ti O O � � � � � � � � � � •� � obi S y h C3 ?) zt rzt zt � O � •u � (�� ` � lN� O p � O V . 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