81R11034 JSC-F
By: Kolkhorst H.B. No. 3666
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the application for and issuance of a marriage license.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 2.002, Family Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 2.002. APPLICATION FOR LICENSE. Except as provided by
Section 2.006, each person applying for a license must:
(1) appear before the county clerk;
(2) submit the person's proof of identity and age as
provided by Section 2.005(b) [this subchapter];
(3) provide the information applicable to that person
for which spaces are provided in the application for a marriage
license;
(4) mark the appropriate boxes provided in the
application; and
(5) take the oath printed on the application and sign
the application before the county clerk.
SECTION 2. Section 2.005(b), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The proof must be established by:
(1) a current state-issued driver's license or
identification card;
(2) a current United States passport;
(3) a current passport issued by a foreign country
with a valid entry stamp; or
(4) proof of identification and age accepted by the
Department of Public Safety for issuance of an original driver's
license under Section 521.142, Transportation Code [a certified
copy of the applicant's birth certificate or by some certificate,
license, or document issued by this state or another state, the
United States, or a foreign government].
SECTION 3. Section 2.006(b), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The person applying on behalf of an absent applicant
shall provide to the clerk:
(1) notwithstanding Section 132.001, Civil Practice
and Remedies Code, the notarized affidavit of the absent applicant
as provided by this subchapter;
(2) proof of the identity and age of the absent
applicant under Section 2.005(b) [as provided by this subchapter];
and
(3) if required because the absent applicant is a
person under 18 years of age, [the documents establishing parental
consent,] documents establishing that a prior marriage has been
dissolved, [or] a court order authorizing the marriage of the
absent, underage applicant, or documents establishing consent by a
parent or a person who has legal authority to consent to the
marriage, including:
(A) proof of identity of the parent or person
with legal authority to consent to the marriage under Section
2.005(b); and
(B) proof that the parent or person has the legal
authority to consent to the marriage for the applicant under rules
adopted under Section 2.102(j).
SECTION 4. Section 2.009(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsections (b) and (d), 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.
SECTION 5. Section 2.102, Family Code, is amended by adding
Subsections (i) and (j) to read as follows:
(i) A parent or person who has the legal authority to
consent to marriage for an underage applicant who gives consent
under this section shall provide:
(1) proof of the parent's or person's identity under
Section 2.005(b); and
(2) proof that the parent or person has the legal
authority to consent to marriage for the applicant under rules
adopted under Subsection (j).
(j) The executive commissioner of the Health and Human
Services Commission shall adopt rules detailing acceptable proof of
the legal authority to consent to the marriage of an underage
applicant. In adopting rules, the executive commissioner shall
ensure that the rules:
(1) adequately protect against fraud; and
(2) do not create an undue burden on any class of
person legally entitled to consent to the marriage of an underage
applicant.
SECTION 6. Section 2.209, Family Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 2.209. DUPLICATE LICENSE. (a) On request [the
application and proof of identity of a person whose marriage is
recorded in the records of the county clerk], the county clerk shall
issue a certified copy of a recorded [duplicate] marriage license
[completed with information as contained in the records].
(b) If a marriage license issued by a county clerk is lost,
destroyed, or rendered useless, the clerk shall issue a duplicate
license [On the application and proof of identity of both persons to
whom a marriage license was issued but not recorded as required by
Section 2.208, the county clerk shall issue a duplicate license if
each person applying submits to the clerk an affidavit stating:
[(1) that the persons to whom the original license was
issued were married to each other before the expiration date of the
original license by a person authorized to conduct a marriage
ceremony;
[(2) the name of the person who conducted the
ceremony; and
[(3) the date of the ceremony].
(c) If one or both parties to a marriage license discover an
error on the recorded marriage license, both parties to the
marriage shall execute a notarized affidavit stating the error.
The county clerk shall file and record the affidavit as an amendment
to the marriage license, and the affidavit is considered part of the
marriage license. The clerk shall include a copy of the affidavit
with any future certified copy of the marriage license issued by the
clerk.
(d) The executive commissioner of the Health and Human
Services Commission by rule shall prescribe the form of the
affidavit under Subsection (c).
SECTION 7. Section 2.403(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The county clerk shall require proof of the identity and
age of each party to the declaration of informal marriage to be
established by a document listed in Section 2.005(b) [a certified
copy of the party's birth certificate or by some certificate,
license, or document issued by this state or another state, the
United States, or a foreign government].
SECTION 8. The heading to Section 2.404, Family Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 2.404. RECORDING OF CERTIFICATE OR DECLARATION OF
INFORMAL MARRIAGE.
SECTION 9. Section 2.404, Family Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (a-1) and amending Subsections (b), (c), and (d) to read
as follows:
(a-1) On the proper execution of the declaration, the clerk
may:
(1) prepare a certificate of informal marriage;
(2) enter on the certificate the names of the persons
declaring their informal marriage and the date the certificate or
declaration is issued; and
(3) record the time at which the certificate or
declaration is issued.
(b) The county clerk may not certify the declaration or
issue or record the certificate of informal marriage or 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.
(c) On execution of the declaration, the county clerk shall
record the declaration or certificate of informal marriage [and all
documents submitted with the declaration or note a summary of them
on the declaration form], deliver the original of the declaration
to the parties, deliver the original of the certificate of informal
marriage to the parties, if a certificate was prepared, and send a
copy of the declaration of informal marriage to the bureau of vital
statistics.
(d) An executed [A] declaration or a certificate of informal
marriage recorded as provided in this section is prima facie
evidence of the marriage of the parties.
SECTION 10. Section 2.011, Family Code, is repealed.
SECTION 11. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act, the executive commissioner of the Health and Human
Services Commission shall adopt the rules required by Sections
2.102(j) and 2.209(d), Family Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 12. (a) Sections 2.002, 2.005, 2.006, 2.009, and
2.102, Family Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to an
application for a marriage license submitted to a county clerk on or
after the effective date of this Act. An application for a marriage
license submitted before the effective date of this Act is governed
by the law in effect immediately before that date, and the former
law is continued in effect for that purpose.
(b) Sections 2.209(a) and (b), Family Code, as amended by
this Act, apply only to a duplicate marriage license or certified
copy of a marriage license requested on or after the effective date
of this Act. A duplicate marriage license or certified copy of a
marriage license requested before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect immediately before that date, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
(c) Section 2.209(c), Family Code, as added by this Act,
applies to an affidavit submitted on or after the effective date of
this Act. An affidavit submitted before the effective date of this
Act is governed by the law in effect immediately before that date,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
(d) Sections 2.403 and 2.404, Family Code, as amended by
this Act, apply only to a declaration or certificate of informal
marriage issued on or after the effective date of this Act. A
declaration or certificate of informal marriage issued before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect
immediately before that date, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 13. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.