| 1 | 1 | | By: Bell H.B. No. 623 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 6 | | relating to the funding, issuing, and litigation of certain |
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| 7 | 7 | | marriage licenses. |
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| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the Preservation of |
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| 10 | 10 | | Sovereignty and Marriage Act. |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 2. Section 2.001, Family Code, is amended to read as |
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| 12 | 12 | | follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (c) State or local taxpayer funds or governmental salaries |
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| 14 | 14 | | may not be used for an activity that includes the licensing or |
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| 15 | 15 | | support of same-sex marriage. |
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| 16 | 16 | | (d) A state or local governmental employee officially may |
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| 17 | 17 | | not recognize, grant, or enforce a same-sex marriage license. If an |
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| 18 | 18 | | employee violates this subsection, the employee may not continue to |
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| 19 | 19 | | receive a salary, pension, or other employee benefit at the expense |
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| 20 | 20 | | of the taxpayers of this State. |
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| 21 | 21 | | (e) Taxes or public funds may not be utilized to enforce a |
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| 22 | 22 | | court order requiring the issuance or recognition of a same-sex |
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| 23 | 23 | | marriage license. |
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| 24 | 24 | | (f) A court of this State shall dismiss a legal action |
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| 25 | 25 | | challenging a provision of this section and shall award costs and |
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| 26 | 26 | | attorney's fees to a person or entity named as a defendant in the |
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| 27 | 27 | | legal action. |
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| 28 | 28 | | (g) A person employed by this State or a local governmental |
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| 29 | 29 | | entity who violates or interferes with the implementation of this |
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| 30 | 30 | | section may not continue to receive a salary, pension, or other |
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| 31 | 31 | | employee benefit. |
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| 32 | 32 | | (h) The State is not subject to suit in law or equity |
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| 33 | 33 | | pursuant to the eleventh amendment of the United States |
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| 34 | 34 | | Constitution for complying with the provisions of this section, |
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| 35 | 35 | | regardless of a contrary federal court ruling. |
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| 36 | 36 | | SECTION 3. If any section, subsection, paragraph, |
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| 37 | 37 | | subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this Act is for |
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| 38 | 38 | | any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such holding |
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| 39 | 39 | | shall not affect the constitutionality or validity of the remaining |
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| 40 | 40 | | portions of this Act, the legislature hereby declaring that it |
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| 41 | 41 | | would have passed this, and each and every section, subsection, |
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| 42 | 42 | | paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, and word |
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| 43 | 43 | | thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other |
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| 44 | 44 | | sections, subsections, paragraphs, subparagraphs, sentences, |
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| 45 | 45 | | clauses, phrases, or words hereof may be declared to be |
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| 46 | 46 | | unconstitutional, invalid, or otherwise ineffective. All |
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| 47 | 47 | | constitutionally valid applications of this Act shall be severed |
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| 48 | 48 | | from any applications that a court finds to be invalid, leaving the |
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| 49 | 49 | | valid applications in force, because it is the legislature's intent |
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| 50 | 50 | | and priority that the valid applications be allowed to stand alone. |
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| 51 | 51 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 52 | 52 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 53 | 53 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 54 | 54 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 55 | 55 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |
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