HBA-SEB C.S.H.B. 2442 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS
Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 2442
By: Goodman
Juvenile Justice and Family Issues
4/15/1999
Committee Report (Substituted)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
After remaining stable during the 1950s, the divorce rate in the United
States increased in the 1960s, doubled between 1966 and 1976, and leveled
off at a high rate in the 1980s. In order to combat the high divorce rate,
a premarital education course may benefit couples who are uncertain of
their choice to get married. Research indicates that 10 to 15 percent of
couples taking a premarital education course decide not to marry. C.S.H.B.
2442 encourages applicants for a marriage license to attend a premarital
education course of at least four hours in length. This bill lays out the
instruction for such a course and requires a county clerk to issue a
premarital education handbook to each marriage license applicant.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Section 2.009(c), Family Code, to conform to Section 1,
Chapter 698, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997, and to
amend it to require a county clerk, on proper execution of an application
for a marriage license, to distribute to each applicant a premarital
education handbook provided by the attorney general. Makes conforming and
nonsubstantive changes.
SECTION 2. Amends Subchapter A, Chapter 2, Family Code, by adding Sections
2.013 and 2.014, as follows:
Sec. 2.013. PREMARITAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS; WAIVER. (a) Encourages
each person applying for a marriage license to attend a premarital
education course of at least four hours during the year preceding the date
of the application.
(b) Authorizes a course to be completed by personal instruction, videotape
instruction, instruction through electronic medium, or a combination of
these methods.
(c) Provides that a premarital education course should include instruction
in conflict management, communication skills, children and parenting
responsibilities, and financial responsibilities.
(d) Establishes that a course should be offered by a mental health
professional who holds at least a master's degree with a background in
family therapy or a religious practitioner who performs counseling
consistent with the laws of this state or another person designated as a
program counselor by a church or religious institution.
(e) Authorizes each county clerk to maintain a roster of area course
providers who meet the requirements of this section, including providers
who offer the course on a sliding scale or without charge. Authorizes the
clerk to provide a copy of the roster on request to an applicant for a
marriage license.
(f) Requires an applicant for a marriage license who takes the course to
pay the fee charged for the course.
(g) Requires a person who seeks to be listed as a course provider to
notify the county clerk of the county in which the person intends to offer
the course. Provides that the notification must include the applicant's
professional license number or evidence of the person's position or
affiliation with a church or religious institution, as appropriate, and an
address at which the course provider may be contacted.
Sec. 2.014. FAMILY TRUST FUND. (a) Creates the family trust fund as a
trust fund with the state comptroller. Requires the attorney general to
administer the fund for the fund's beneficiaries.
(b) Establishes that money in the trust fund is derived from depositing $3
of each marriage license fee as authorized under Section 118.018(c), Local
Government Code. Authorizes money in the trust fund to be used only for the
development and distribution of a premarital education handbook, grants to
institutions of higher education having academic departments that are
capable of research on marriage and divorce, support for counties to
administer free or low-cost premarital education courses, programs intended
to reduce the amount of delinquent child support, and other programs the
attorney general determines will assist families in this state.
(c) Requires the premarital education handbook to be distributed to each
marriage license applicant and to contain information on conflict
management, communication skills, children and parenting responsibilities,
and financial responsibilities.
(d) Requires the attorney general to appoint an advisory committee to
assist in the development of the handbook. Sets forth the composition of
the advisory committee. Provides that a member of the advisory committee is
not entitled to reimbursement of the member's expenses.
SECTION 3. Amends Section 118.011(a), Local Government Code, to require a
county clerk to collect $30, rather than $25, for a marriage license.
SECTION 4. Amends Section 118.018, Local Government Code, by adding
Subsection (c), to require a county clerk to remit $3 of a fee from a
marriage license applicant to the comptroller for deposit in the family
trust fund.
SECTION 5. (a) Repealer: Section 1, Chapter 698, Acts of the 75th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1997. That section currently requires a
clerk of a county to enter on a marriage license, rather than on the
reverse side of the license, the names of the licensees, the date of
issuance, and the name of the person appointed to act as proxy, if any.
(b) Establishes that this Act prevails over another act of the 76th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1999, to the extent of any conflict relating
to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted codes.
SECTION 6. Effective date: September 1, 1999.
Makes application of this Act prospective.
SECTION 7. Emergency clause.
COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE
The substitute modifies the original by deleting the text of SECTIONS 1 and
6 and redesignating SECTIONS 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 9 of the original to
SECTIONS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of the substitute.
The substitute deletes the text of SECTION 1 of the original, which would
have amended Section 2.002, Family Code, to require each person applying
for a marriage license to complete a premarital education course or to
submit an affidavit of waiver of that requirement.
The substitute modifies SECTION 1 of the substitute, as redesignated from
SECTION 2 of the original, by amending Section 2.009(c), Family Code, to
require a county clerk to distribute a premarital education handbook to
each marriage license applicant. The original would have required the
clerk to distribute a questionnaire to each applicant for use by the Texas
Tech University human development and family studies department. The
original would have also amended Section 2.009(a) to make a conforming
change and would have added Section 2.009(e), which set forth the
requirements for the questionnaire.
The substitute modifies SECTION 2 of the substitute, as redesignated from
SECTION 3 of the original, as follows:
Proposed Section 2.013(a) is modified to encourage, rather than require,
each marriage license applicant to complete a premarital education course
of at least four hours during the year preceding the date of the
application. The original would have prohibited a county clerk from
issuing a marriage license if either applicant fails to submit proof of
completion of the course or an affidavit of a waiver of that requirement.
The original would have also required an applicant to present a certificate
of completion of the course.
Proposed Section 2.013(b) is modified to authorize the course to be
completed by various methods. Makes conforming changes with respect to the
completion certificate.
Proposed Section 2.013(c) is modified to set forth the information that
should be, rather than must be, included in the course and deletes text
requiring the course to include instruction in problems reported by married
persons who seek counseling.
Proposed Section 2.013(d) is modified to establish that a course should be
offered by a mental health professional who holds at least a master's
degree with a background in family therapy or a religious practitioner who
performs counseling consistent with the laws of this state or another
person designated as a program counselor by a church or religious
institution. The original would have authorized a person to take the course
from a licensed marriage and family therapist, a licensed psychologist, a
licensed master social worker, a licensed professional counselor, or any
other person designated as a course provider by a county clerk.
Proposed Section 2.013(e) is modified to authorize, rather than require,
each county clerk to maintain a roster of area course providers who meet
the requirements of this section, including providers who offer the course
on a sliding scale or without charge. Authorizes, rather than requires,
the clerk to provide a copy of the roster on request to an applicant for a
marriage license.
Proposed Section 2.013(g) is modified to require a person who seeks to be
listed as a course provider to notify the county clerk of the county in
which the person intends to offer the course. Makes a conforming change
with respect to the notification.
The substitute deletes the text of proposed Sections 2.013(h) and (i).
Proposed Section 2.013(h) would have created requirements regarding the
Texas Tech University human development and family studies department.
Proposed Section 2.013(i) would have exempted from the requirement to take
a course a person who submits an affidavit of a waiver of the course
requirement.
Proposed Section 2.014(b) is modified to provide that money in the family
trust fund is derived from depositing $3, rather than $10, of each marriage
license fee. The substitute authorizes money in the family trust fund to
be used for the development and distribution of a premarital education
handbook, rather than a family law handbook by the family law council of
the State Bar of Texas.
Section 2.014(c) is added to require the premarital education handbook to
be distributed to each marriage license applicant and to contain
information on conflict management, communication skills, children and
parenting responsibilities, and financial responsibilities.
Section 2.014(d) is added to require the attorney general to appoint an
advisory committee to assist in the development of the handbook. Sets
forth the composition of the advisory committee. Provides that a member of
the advisory committee is not entitled to reimbursement of the member's
expenses
The substitute modifies SECTION 3 of the substitute, as redesignated from
SECTION 4 of the original, to require a county clerk to collect a $30 fee
for a marriage license. The original would have required the clerk to
collect $25 from an applicant for a marriage license who completed a
premarital education course and $35 from an applicant who submitted an
affidavit of waiver of the premarital education course requirement.
The substitute modifies SECTION 4 of the substitute, as redesignated from
SECTION 5 of the original, to make a conforming change with respect to an
affidavit of waiver of a course requirement offered in conjunction with a
request for a marriage license.
The substitute deletes the text of SECTION 6 of the original, which would
have created specifications for the handbook by the family law council of
the State Bar of Texas.