By: Sanford H.B. No. 2985
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to marriage education courses for certain couples
filing
for divorce on the grounds of insupportability.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter E, Chapter 6, Family Code, is amended
by adding Section 6.4025 to read as follows:
Sec. 6.4025. CRISIS MARRIAGE EDUCATION REQUIRED IN CERTAIN
SUITS. (a) This section applies to a suit for dissolution of
marriage that is filed on the grounds of insupportability and in
which the household of one of the parties is the primary residence
for:
(1) a child under the age of 18;
(2) a child 18 years of age who is attending high
school; or
(3) an adult disabled child as described by Section
154.302.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (d), a petition in a
suit for dissolution of a marriage must be accompanied by a
completion certificate for a crisis marriage education course under
Section 6.412 completed by the petitioner not less than 60 days or
more than one year before the date the petition is filed.
(c) Not later than the 60th day after the date the
respondent receives notice of the suit for dissolution of marriage,
the respondent may file with the court a completion certificate for
a crisis marriage education course under Section 6.412 completed by
the respondent not more than 60 days before the date the petition is
filed.
(d) If a party submits evidence under Subsection (e), the
court may not:
(1) require a completion certificate for a crisis
marriage education course to be submitted with the petition; or
(2) consider the completion of the crisis marriage
education course as a factor in rendering an order affecting the
rights or responsibilities of the parties.
(e) Either party may submit to the court any of the
following as evidence that the other party to the suit has committed
family violence against the party or mentally, emotionally,
verbally, or psychologically abused the party:
(1) a copy of a protective order issued under Title 4
against the other party because of family violence;
(2) a police record documenting family violence by the
other party against the party submitting the evidence;
(3) a statement by a physician or other medical
evidence that indicates that the party submitting the evidence was
a victim of family violence; or
(4) a sworn statement by a counselor or advocate in a
family violence program that indicates that the party submitting
the evidence was a victim of family violence or mental, emotional,
verbal, or psychological abuse.
SECTION 2. Subchapter E, Chapter 6, Family Code, is amended
by adding Section 6.412 to read as follows:
Sec. 6.412. CRISIS MARRIAGE EDUCATION COURSES. (a) Each
party to a suit for dissolution of a marriage is encouraged to
attend a crisis marriage education course of at least 10 hours. The
goal of the course, and the focus of each component of the course,
is marriage restoration.
(b) A crisis marriage education course must, at a minimum,
include instruction in:
(1) conflict management;
(2) communication skills;
(3) forgiveness skills; and
(4) research-based potential effects of divorce on
children and the parties to a divorce.
(c) A course under this section should be offered by
instructors trained and certified in a skills-based and
research-based marriage curriculum. The following individuals and
organizations may provide courses:
(1) marriage educators;
(2) clergy or their designees;
(3) licensed mental health professionals;
(4) faith-based organizations; and
(5) community-based organizations.
(d) A person who takes a course under this section shall pay
any fee charged for the course.
(e) A person who provides a crisis marriage education course
shall provide a signed and dated completion certificate to each
person who completes the course. The certificate must include the
name of the course, the name of the course provider, and the
completion date.
(f) The Health and Human Services Commission shall maintain
an Internet website on which individuals and organizations
described by Subsection (c) may electronically register with the
commission to indicate the skills-based and research-based
curriculum in which the registrant is certified. The executive
commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission shall
notify each county clerk and district clerk about the website. The
clerk of the court in which a petition for dissolution of a marriage
based on insupportability is filed shall give the person filing the
petition information about the website along with the location of
libraries or other resource centers that provide access to the
Internet.
SECTION 3. Section 6.702, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read
as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (c) or (d), the court
may not grant a divorce before the 60th day after the date the suit
was filed. [A decree rendered in violation of this subsection is
not subject to collateral attack.]
(d) The court may not grant a divorce on the grounds of
insupportability before:
(1) the 275th day after the date the suit was filed; or
(2) the 60th day after the date the suit was filed, if
each party submits to the court a completion certificate for a
crisis marriage education course under Section 6.412.
(e) A decree rendered in violation of Subsection (a) or (d)
is not subject to collateral attack.
SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to a suit for dissolution of a marriage filed on or after the
effective date of this Act. A suit for dissolution of a marriage
filed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law
in effect on the date the suit was filed, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.