81R465 KSD-D
By: Howard of Fort Bend H.B. No. 1212
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certain requirements relating to the issuance of a
marriage license or the recording of a declaration of informal
marriage and to the maintenance of marriage and divorce indexes by
the bureau of vital statistics.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Effective January 1, 2011, Subchapter A, Chapter
2, Family Code, is amended by adding Section 2.0075 to read as
follows:
Sec. 2.0075. STATE INDEX VERIFICATION REQUIRED. (a) The
clerk shall verify, using the online state index maintained by the
bureau of vital statistics under Section 194.003, Health and Safety
Code, that neither applicant is listed on the index as being
presently married.
(b) An applicant may provide to the clerk a copy of a decree
of divorce or annulment or a copy of the death certificate of the
person to whom the applicant was formerly married as proof that a
marriage of the applicant that is listed on the index has been
dissolved.
SECTION 2. Effective January 1, 2011, Section 2.009, Family
Code, is amended by amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding
Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsections (b), [and] (d), and
(e), the county clerk may not issue a license if either applicant:
(1) fails to provide the information required by this
subchapter;
(2) fails to submit proof of age and identity;
(3) is under 16 years of age and has not been granted a
court order as provided by Section 2.103;
(4) is 16 years of age or older but under 18 years of
age and has not presented at least one of the following:
(A) parental consent as provided by Section
2.102;
(B) documents establishing that a prior marriage
of the applicant has been dissolved; or
(C) a court order as provided by Section 2.103;
(5) checks "false" in response to a statement in the
application, except as provided by Subsection (b) or (d), or fails
to make a required declaration in an affidavit required of an absent
applicant; [or]
(6) indicates that the applicant has been divorced by
a decree of a court of this state within the last 30 days, unless:
(A) the applicants were divorced from each other;
or
(B) the prohibition against remarriage is waived
as provided by Section 6.802; or
(7) is listed on the state index under Section
194.003, Health and Safety Code, as being presently married to a
person other than the other applicant and has not provided to the
clerk under Section 2.0075(b) proof that the marriage of the
applicant has been dissolved.
(b) If an applicant is listed on the online state index
under Section 194.003, Health and Safety Code, as being presently
married to the other applicant or an applicant checks "false" in
response to the statement "I am not presently married and the other
applicant is not presently married," the county clerk shall inquire
as to whether the applicant is presently married to the other
applicant. If the applicant states that the applicant is currently
married to the other applicant, the county clerk shall record that
statement on the license before the administration of the oath. The
county clerk may not refuse to issue a license on the ground that
the applicants are already married to each other.
(e) The county clerk may not refuse to issue a license on the
ground that an applicant is listed on the online state index under
Section 194.003, Health and Safety Code, as being presently married
to a person other than the other applicant if the applicant provides
to the clerk an affidavit of the applicant declaring that the
applicant's name is listed on the index in error or declaring that
the applicant has good reason for failing to provide to the clerk
proof under Section 2.0075(b) that the marriage of the applicant
has been dissolved. The county clerk shall submit to the bureau of
vital statistics of the Department of State Health Services a copy
of an affidavit provided to the clerk under this subsection.
SECTION 3. Effective January 1, 2011, Subchapter E, Chapter
2, Family Code, is amended by adding Section 2.4035 to read as
follows:
Sec. 2.4035. STATE INDEX VERIFICATION REQUIRED. (a) The
clerk shall verify, using the online state index maintained by the
bureau of vital statistics under Section 194.003, Health and Safety
Code, that neither party to the declaration of informal marriage is
listed on the index as being presently married.
(b) A party may provide to the clerk a copy of a decree of
divorce or annulment or a copy of a death certificate of the person
to whom the applicant was formerly married as proof that a marriage
of the party that is listed on the index has been dissolved.
SECTION 4. Effective January 1, 2011, Section 2.404, Family
Code, is amended by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection
(f) to read as follows:
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (f), the [The] county
clerk may not certify or record the declaration if:
(1) either party fails to supply any information or
provide any document required by this subchapter;
(2) either party is under 18 years of age; [or]
(3) either party checks "false" in response to the
statement of relationship to the other party; or
(4) either party is listed on the state index as being
presently married to a person other than the other party and has not
provided to the clerk under Section 2.4035(b) proof that the
marriage of the party has been dissolved.
(f) The county clerk may not refuse to record a declaration
on the ground that a party is listed on the online state index under
Section 194.003, Health and Safety Code, as being presently married
to a person other than the other party if the party provides to the
clerk an affidavit of the party declaring that the party's name is
listed on the index in error or declaring that the party has good
reason for failing to provide to the clerk proof under Section
2.4035(b) that the marriage of the party has been dissolved. The
county clerk shall submit to the bureau of vital statistics of the
Department of State Health Services a copy of an affidavit provided
to the clerk under this subsection.
SECTION 5. Section 194.003, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Subsections (c), (d), and (e) to read as follows:
(c) The bureau of vital statistics shall make available on
its Internet website the indexes required by this section. To the
extent practicable using the fees imposed by Sections 118.018(c)
and 118.019(b), Local Government Code, the bureau shall enhance the
search capabilities of its database of information regarding
marriages, divorces, or annulments of marriages and ensure that the
indexes required by this section are up-to-date, accurate, and
easily accessible to interested members of the public. The index
must include a notation next to each marriage license application
or declaration of informal marriage for which an affidavit was
submitted under Section 2.009(e) or 2.404(f), Family Code, as
applicable.
(d) The executive commissioner of the Health and Human
Services Commission shall adopt rules for the administration of
this section, including rules to require that:
(1) the index provide county clerks with online access
seven days a week to any identifying information necessary for a
county clerk to verify that an applicant for a marriage license is a
person listed on the index;
(2) any confidential identifying information
maintained on the index for use by a county clerk under Subdivision
(1) be secure and inaccessible to members of the public; and
(3) a county clerk of a county that lacks online access
to the index receive the assistance required for the clerk to
satisfy in a timely manner any duty relating to accessing the
information on the index that is imposed on the clerk by other law.
(e) The executive commissioner of the Health and Human
Services Commission by rule shall establish the amount of the fee to
be imposed on each marriage license applicant under Section
118.018(c), Local Government Code, and on the parties to a
declaration of an informal marriage under Section 118.019(b), Local
Government Code. The amount of the fee may not exceed the lesser of
$5 or the amount the executive commissioner determines necessary
for updating, developing, and maintaining the state index of
marriage license applications and declarations of informal
marriage and the state index of reports of divorces or annulments of
marriage under this section. The executive commissioner shall
provide notice to the Office of Court Administration of the Texas
Judicial System regarding the amount of a fee established or
modified under this subsection. On receipt of that notification,
the Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System
shall notify each county clerk in this state regarding the amount of
a fee to be charged under Sections 118.018(c) and 118.019(b), Local
Government Code.
SECTION 6. Section 118.018, Local Government Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) In addition to other fees collected under this section,
a county clerk shall collect from a marriage license applicant a fee
in the amount established by the executive commissioner of the
Health and Human Services Commission by rule under Section 194.003,
Health and Safety Code, for the purpose of updating, developing,
and maintaining the state index of marriage license applications
and declarations of informal marriage and the state index of
reports of divorces or annulments of marriage under that section. A
fee collected under this subsection shall be sent to the bureau of
vital statistics of the Department of State Health Services for
deposit to the credit of the vital statistics fund to be used for
the purpose of updating, developing, and maintaining the state
index described by this subsection.
SECTION 7. Section 118.019, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 118.019. DECLARATION OF INFORMAL MARRIAGE. (a) The
fee for "Declaration of Informal Marriage" under Section 118.011 is
for all services rendered in connection with the execution of a
declaration of informal marriage under Section 2.404 [1.92], Family
Code. The fee shall be collected at the time the service is
rendered.
(b) In addition to the fee described by Subsection (a), a
county clerk shall collect from the parties to a declaration of
informal marriage a fee in the amount established by the executive
commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission by rule
under Section 194.003, Health and Safety Code, for the purpose of
updating, developing, and maintaining the state index of marriage
license applications and declarations of informal marriage and the
state index of reports of divorces or annulments of marriage under
that section. A fee collected under this subsection shall be sent
to the bureau of vital statistics of the Department of State Health
Services for deposit to the credit of the vital statistics fund to
be used for the purpose of updating, developing, and maintaining
the state index described by this subsection.
SECTION 8. Section 118.022, Local Government Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) Subsection (a) does not apply to a fee imposed under
Section 118.018(c) or 118.019(b).
SECTION 9. Sections 2.009(a) and (b) and 2.404(b), Family
Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to an application for a
marriage license filed, or a declaration of an informal marriage
executed, as applicable, on or after January 1, 2011. An
application filed or declaration executed before that date is
governed by the law in effect on the date the application was filed
or the declaration was executed, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 10. The executive commissioner of the Health and
Human Services Commission shall:
(1) adopt rules for the administration of Section
194.003, Health and Safety Code, as required by this Act, not later
than June 1, 2010; and
(2) ensure that the enhancements to the state index
required by this Act are completed and available for access by
county clerks not later than January 1, 2011.
SECTION 11. The changes in law made by this Act to Sections
118.018, 118.019, and 118.022, Local Government Code, apply only to
a fee imposed for a marriage license application filed, or a
declaration of an informal marriage executed, as applicable, on or
after the effective date of this Act. A fee imposed for an
application filed or declaration executed before the effective date
of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the
application was filed or the declaration was executed, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 12. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.