Covenant marriage; creating the Covenant Marriage Act of Oklahoma; establishing requirements for entering covenant marriage; providing tax credit for covenant marriage. Effective date. Emergency.

SB 228 creates a new "covenant marriage" option in Oklahoma, requiring couples to sign a specific Declaration of Intent (affirming lifelong commitment), complete premarital counseling with a minister or counselor, and file the document with their marriage license application. Existing marriages can be converted to covenant marriages by following similar steps: signing the Declaration of Intent and completing counseling. The bill also provides a tax credit for couples in covenant marriages, which is non-refundable, can be carried forward, and must be claimed via a form filed with the Oklahoma Tax Commission. This affects couples choosing or converting to covenant marriages, with no changes to standard marriage requirements.