Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas House Bill HB869 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Ashby, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Paxton) H.B. No. 869
2	2	(In the Senate - Received from the House April 15, 2013;
3	3	April 18, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on
4	4	Jurisprudence; May 16, 2013, reported favorably by the following
5	5	vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 16, 2013, sent to printer.)
6	6
7	7
8	8	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
9	9	AN ACT
10	10	relating to the issuance of a marriage license for an absent
11	11	applicant, the participation of a proxy in certain marriage
12	12	ceremonies, and the maintenance and submission of records relating
13	13	to a marriage license issued for an absent applicant.
14	14	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
15	15	SECTION 1. Section 2.006(c), Family Code, is amended to
16	16	read as follows:
17	17	(c) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the clerk may not issue
18	18	a marriage license for which both applicants are absent unless the
19	19	person applying on behalf of each absent applicant provides to the
20	20	clerk an affidavit of the applicant declaring that the applicant
21	21	is[:
22	22	[(1) on active duty as] a member of the armed forces of
23	23	the United States stationed in another country in support of combat
24	24	or another military operation [or the state military forces; or
25	25	[(2) confined in a correctional facility, as defined
26	26	by Section 1.07, Penal Code].
27	27	SECTION 2. Section 2.007, Family Code, is amended to read as
28	28	follows:
29	29	Sec. 2.007. AFFIDAVIT OF ABSENT APPLICANT. The affidavit
30	30	of an absent applicant must include:
31	31	(1) the absent applicant's full name, including the
32	32	maiden surname of a female applicant, address, date of birth, place
33	33	of birth, including city, county, and state, citizenship, and
34	34	social security number, if any;
35	35	(2) a declaration that the absent applicant has not
36	36	been divorced within the last 30 days;
37	37	(3) a declaration that the absent applicant is:
38	38	(A) not presently married; or
39	39	(B) married to the other applicant and they wish
40	40	to marry again;
41	41	(4) a declaration that the other applicant is not
42	42	presently married and is not related to the absent applicant as:
43	43	(A) an ancestor or descendant, by blood or
44	44	adoption;
45	45	(B) a brother or sister, of the whole or half
46	46	blood or by adoption;
47	47	(C) a parent's brother or sister, of the whole or
48	48	half blood or by adoption;
49	49	(D) a son or daughter of a brother or sister, of
50	50	the whole or half blood or by adoption;
51	51	(E) a current or former stepchild or stepparent;
52	52	or
53	53	(F) a son or daughter of a parent's brother or
54	54	sister, of the whole or half blood or by adoption;
55	55	(5) a declaration that the absent applicant desires to
56	56	marry and the name, age, and address of the person to whom the
57	57	absent applicant desires to be married;
58	58	(6) the approximate date on which the marriage is to
59	59	occur;
60	60	(7) the reason the absent applicant is unable to
61	61	appear personally before the county clerk for the issuance of the
62	62	license; and
63	63	(8) [if the absent applicant will be unable to attend
64	64	the ceremony,] the appointment of any adult, other than the other
65	65	applicant, to act as proxy for the purpose of participating in the
66	66	ceremony, if the absent applicant is:
67	67	(A) a member of the armed forces of the United
68	68	States stationed in another country in support of combat or another
69	69	military operation; and
70	70	(B) unable to attend the ceremony.
71	71	SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 2, Family Code, is amended
72	72	by adding Section 2.0071 to read as follows:
73	73	Sec. 2.0071. MAINTENANCE OF RECORDS BY CLERK RELATING TO
74	74	LICENSE FOR ABSENT APPLICANT. A county clerk who issues a marriage
75	75	license for an absent applicant shall maintain the affidavit of the
76	76	absent applicant and the application for the marriage license in
77	77	the same manner that the clerk maintains an application for a
78	78	marriage license submitted by two applicants in person.
79	79	SECTION 4. Section 2.203(b), Family Code, is amended to
80	80	read as follows:
81	81	(b) A person [unable to appear for the ceremony] may assent
82	82	to marriage by the appearance of a proxy appointed in the affidavit
83	83	authorized by Subchapter A if the person is:
84	84	(1) a member of the armed forces of the United States
85	85	stationed in another country in support of combat or another
86	86	military operation; and
87	87	(2) unable to attend the ceremony.
88	88	SECTION 5. Section 194.001(a), Health and Safety Code, is
89	89	amended to read as follows:
90	90	(a) The county clerk shall file with the bureau of vital
91	91	statistics a copy of each completed marriage license application
92	92	and a copy of any affidavit of an absent applicant submitted with an
93	93	application. The clerk shall file the copies [copy] not later than
94	94	the 90th day after the date of the application. The clerk may not
95	95	collect a fee for filing the copies [copy].
96	96	SECTION 6. Sections 2.006 and 2.007, Family Code, as
97	97	amended by this Act, apply to an application for a marriage license
98	98	filed on or after the effective date of this Act. An application
99	99	filed before that date is governed by the law in effect on the date
100	100	the application was filed, and the former law is continued in effect
101	101	for that purpose.
102	102	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
103	103	* * * * *