Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1685 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	88R7890 PRL-D
2	2	By: Hernandez H.B. No. 1685
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to certain statutory changes to reflect and address
8	8	same-sex marriages.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 2.001(a), Family Code, is amended to
11	11	read as follows:
12	12	(a) Two individuals [A man and a woman] desiring to enter
13	13	into a ceremonial marriage must obtain a marriage license from the
14	14	county clerk of any county of this state.
15	15	SECTION 2. Section 2.004(b), Family Code, is amended to
16	16	read as follows:
17	17	(b) The application form must contain:
18	18	(1) a heading entitled "Application for Marriage
19	19	License, ____________ County, Texas";
20	20	(2) spaces for each applicant's full name, including
21	21	the [woman's maiden] surname of an applicant intending to change
22	22	the applicant's surname as a result of the marriage, address,
23	23	social security number, if any, date of birth, and place of birth,
24	24	including city, county, and state;
25	25	(3) a space for indicating the document tendered by
26	26	each applicant as proof of identity and age;
27	27	(4) spaces for indicating whether each applicant has
28	28	been divorced within the last 30 days;
29	29	(5) printed boxes for each applicant to check "true"
30	30	or "false" in response to the following statement: "I am not
31	31	presently married and the other applicant is not presently
32	32	married.";
33	33	(6) printed boxes for each applicant to check "true"
34	34	or "false" in response to the following statement: "The other
35	35	applicant is not related to me as:
36	36	(A) an ancestor or descendant, by blood or
37	37	adoption;
38	38	(B) a brother or sister, of the whole or half
39	39	blood or by adoption;
40	40	(C) a parent's brother or sister, of the whole or
41	41	half blood or by adoption;
42	42	(D) a son or daughter of a brother or sister, of
43	43	the whole or half blood or by adoption;
44	44	(E) a current or former stepchild or stepparent;
45	45	or
46	46	(F) a son or daughter of a parent's brother or
47	47	sister, of the whole or half blood or by adoption.";
48	48	(7) printed boxes for each applicant to check "true"
49	49	or "false" in response to the following statement: "I am not
50	50	presently delinquent in the payment of court-ordered child
51	51	support.";
52	52	(8) a printed oath reading: "I SOLEMNLY SWEAR (OR
53	53	AFFIRM) THAT THE INFORMATION I HAVE GIVEN IN THIS APPLICATION IS
54	54	CORRECT.";
55	55	(9) spaces immediately below the printed oath for the
56	56	applicants' signatures;
57	57	(10) a certificate of the county clerk that:
58	58	(A) each applicant made the oath and the date and
59	59	place that it was made; or
60	60	(B) an applicant did not appear personally but
61	61	the prerequisites for the license have been fulfilled as provided
62	62	by this chapter;
63	63	(11) spaces for indicating the date of the marriage
64	64	and the county in which the marriage is performed;
65	65	(12) a space for the address to which the applicants
66	66	desire the completed license to be mailed; and
67	67	(13) a printed box for each applicant to check
68	68	indicating that the applicant wishes to make a voluntary
69	69	contribution of $5 to promote healthy early childhood by supporting
70	70	the Texas Home Visiting Program administered by the Office of Early
71	71	Childhood Coordination of the Health and Human Services Commission.
72	72	SECTION 3. Section 2.401(a), Family Code, is amended to
73	73	read as follows:
74	74	(a) In a judicial, administrative, or other proceeding, the
75	75	marriage of two individuals [a man and woman] may be proved by
76	76	evidence that:
77	77	(1) a declaration of their marriage has been signed as
78	78	provided by this subchapter; or
79	79	(2) the individuals [man and woman] agreed to be
80	80	married and after the agreement they lived together in this state as
81	81	spouses [husband and wife] and there represented to others that
82	82	they were married.
83	83	SECTION 4. Section 2.402(b), Family Code, is amended to
84	84	read as follows:
85	85	(b) The declaration form must contain:
86	86	(1) a heading entitled "Declaration and Registration
87	87	of Informal Marriage, ___________ County, Texas";
88	88	(2) spaces for each party's full name, including the
89	89	[woman's maiden] surname of a party intending to change the party's
90	90	surname as a result of the marriage, address, date of birth, place
91	91	of birth, including city, county, and state, and social security
92	92	number, if any;
93	93	(3) a space for indicating the type of document
94	94	tendered by each party as proof of age and identity;
95	95	(4) printed boxes for each party to check "true" or
96	96	"false" in response to the following statement: "The other party
97	97	is not related to me as:
98	98	(A) an ancestor or descendant, by blood or
99	99	adoption;
100	100	(B) a brother or sister, of the whole or half
101	101	blood or by adoption;
102	102	(C) a parent's brother or sister, of the whole or
103	103	half blood or by adoption;
104	104	(D) a son or daughter of a brother or sister, of
105	105	the whole or half blood or by adoption;
106	106	(E) a current or former stepchild or stepparent;
107	107	or
108	108	(F) a son or daughter of a parent's brother or
109	109	sister, of the whole or half blood or by adoption.";
110	110	(5) a printed declaration and oath reading: "I
111	111	SOLEMNLY SWEAR (OR AFFIRM) THAT WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, ARE MARRIED TO
112	112	EACH OTHER BY VIRTUE OF THE FOLLOWING FACTS: ON OR ABOUT (DATE) WE
113	113	AGREED TO BE MARRIED, AND AFTER THAT DATE WE LIVED TOGETHER AS
114	114	SPOUSES [HUSBAND AND WIFE] AND IN THIS STATE WE REPRESENTED TO
115	115	OTHERS THAT WE WERE MARRIED. SINCE THE DATE OF MARRIAGE TO THE
116	116	OTHER PARTY I HAVE NOT BEEN MARRIED TO ANY OTHER PERSON. THIS
117	117	DECLARATION IS TRUE AND THE INFORMATION IN IT WHICH I HAVE GIVEN IS
118	118	CORRECT.";
119	119	(6) spaces immediately below the printed declaration
120	120	and oath for the parties' signatures; and
121	121	(7) a certificate of the county clerk that the parties
122	122	made the declaration and oath and the place and date it was made.
123	123	SECTION 5. Sections 3.401(4) and (5), Family Code, are
124	124	amended to read as follows:
125	125	(4) "Marital estate" means one of three estates:
126	126	(A) the community property owned by the spouses
127	127	together and referred to as the community marital estate; or
128	128	(B) the separate property owned individually by
129	129	each spouse [the husband] and referred to as a separate marital
130	130	estate[; or
131	131	[(C) the separate property owned individually by
132	132	the wife, also referred to as a separate marital estate].
133	133	(5) "Spouse" means one of the two individuals who are
134	134	the parties to a marriage [a husband, who is a man, or a wife, who is
135	135	a woman. A member of a civil union or similar relationship entered
136	136	into in another state between persons of the same sex is not a
137	137	spouse].
138	138	SECTION 6. Section 6.104(b), Family Code, is amended to
139	139	read as follows:
140	140	(b) In exercising its discretion, the court shall consider
141	141	the pertinent facts concerning the welfare of the parties to the
142	142	marriage, including whether a spouse [the female] is pregnant.
143	143	SECTION 7. Section 6.202(b), Family Code, is amended to
144	144	read as follows:
145	145	(b) The later marriage that is void under this section
146	146	becomes valid when the prior marriage is dissolved if, after the
147	147	date of the dissolution, the parties have lived together as spouses
148	148	[husband and wife] and represented themselves to others as being
149	149	married.
150	150	SECTION 8. Section 6.203, Family Code, is amended to read as
151	151	follows:
152	152	Sec. 6.203. CERTAIN VOID MARRIAGES VALIDATED. Except for a
153	153	marriage that would have been void under Section 6.201, a marriage
154	154	that was entered into before January 1, 1970, in violation of the
155	155	prohibitions of Article 496, Penal Code of Texas, 1925, is
156	156	validated from the date the marriage commenced if the parties
157	157	continued until January 1, 1970, to live together as spouses
158	158	[husband and wife] and to represent themselves to others as being
159	159	married.
160	160	SECTION 9. Section 6.704, Family Code, is amended to read as
161	161	follows:
162	162	Sec. 6.704. TESTIMONY OF SPOUSE [HUSBAND OR WIFE]. (a) In
163	163	a suit for dissolution of a marriage, each spouse is a [the husband
164	164	and wife are] competent witness [witnesses] for and against the
165	165	[each] other spouse. A spouse may not be compelled to testify as to
166	166	a matter that will incriminate the spouse.
167	167	(b) If a spouse [the husband or wife] testifies, the court
168	168	or jury trying the case shall determine the credibility of the
169	169	witness and the weight to be given the witness's testimony.
170	170	SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.