| 1 | 1 | | 85R5522 MM-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Cortez H.B. No. 974 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to authorizing the county clerk in certain counties to |
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| 8 | 8 | | conduct a marriage ceremony and collect a related fee; authorizing |
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| 9 | 9 | | a fee. |
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| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. Section 2.202(a), Family Code, is amended to |
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| 12 | 12 | | read as follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (a) The following persons are authorized to conduct a |
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| 14 | 14 | | marriage ceremony: |
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| 15 | 15 | | (1) a licensed or ordained Christian minister or |
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| 16 | 16 | | priest; |
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| 17 | 17 | | (2) a Jewish rabbi; |
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| 18 | 18 | | (3) a person who is an officer of a religious |
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| 19 | 19 | | organization and who is authorized by the organization to conduct a |
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| 20 | 20 | | marriage ceremony; |
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| 21 | 21 | | (4) a justice of the supreme court, judge of the court |
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| 22 | 22 | | of criminal appeals, justice of the courts of appeals, judge of the |
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| 23 | 23 | | district, county, and probate courts, judge of the county courts at |
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| 24 | 24 | | law, judge of the courts of domestic relations, judge of the |
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| 25 | 25 | | juvenile courts, retired justice or judge of those courts, justice |
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| 26 | 26 | | of the peace, retired justice of the peace, judge of a municipal |
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| 27 | 27 | | court, retired judge of a municipal court, associate judge of a |
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| 28 | 28 | | statutory probate court, retired associate judge of a statutory |
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| 29 | 29 | | probate court, associate judge of a county court at law, retired |
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| 30 | 30 | | associate judge of a county court at law, or judge or magistrate of |
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| 31 | 31 | | a federal court of this state; [and] |
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| 32 | 32 | | (5) a retired judge or magistrate of a federal court of |
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| 33 | 33 | | this state; and |
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| 34 | 34 | | (6) in a county with a population of at least 1.7 |
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| 35 | 35 | | million that contains a municipality in which at least 75 percent of |
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| 36 | 36 | | the county's population resides, the county clerk and any deputy |
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| 37 | 37 | | clerk appointed by the clerk. |
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| 38 | 38 | | SECTION 2. Section 51.402, Government Code, is amended by |
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| 39 | 39 | | adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows: |
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| 40 | 40 | | (a-1) In a county to which Section 2.202(a)(6), Family Code, |
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| 41 | 41 | | applies, the county clerk and any deputy clerk appointed by the |
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| 42 | 42 | | clerk may conduct a marriage ceremony. |
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| 43 | 43 | | SECTION 3. Subchapter G, Chapter 51, Government Code, is |
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| 44 | 44 | | amended by adding Section 51.6045 to read as follows: |
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| 45 | 45 | | Sec. 51.6045. MARRIAGE CEREMONY FEE. A clerk or deputy |
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| 46 | 46 | | clerk who conducts a marriage ceremony under Section 51.402(a-1) |
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| 47 | 47 | | shall collect a $25 fee for conducting the ceremony. The clerk or |
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| 48 | 48 | | deputy clerk shall deposit the fee in the county treasury to be used |
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| 49 | 49 | | by the county only to fund charitable organizations that: |
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| 50 | 50 | | (1) assist or provide care for victims of family |
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| 51 | 51 | | violence or of child abuse or neglect; or |
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| 52 | 52 | | (2) provide family violence prevention services. |
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| 53 | 53 | | SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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| 54 | 54 | | a marriage ceremony that is conducted on or after the effective date |
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| 55 | 55 | | of this Act. A marriage ceremony conducted before the effective |
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| 56 | 56 | | date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the |
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| 57 | 57 | | ceremony was conducted, and the former law is continued in effect |
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| 58 | 58 | | for that purpose. |
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| 59 | 59 | | SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |
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