HBA-SEP C.S.S.B. 70 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.S.B. 70 By: Haywood Juvenile Justice & Family Issues 5/18/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In the 1970s, Texas and many states enacted a system of no-fault divorce which was followed by an increase in the number of divorces. In an effort to decrease the number of divorces, Louisiana and Arizona have enacted covenant-marriage laws that require a couple to participate in counseling and requires the counselor to declare a marriage not salvageable before a divorce can be obtained. C.S.S.B. 70 enacts a covenant-marriage law. 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. ANALYSIS C.S.S.B. 70 amends the Family and Local Government codes to provide for the creation of a covenant marriage and the collection of applicable fees. The bill amends the Family Code to provide that each license applicant for a covenant marriage is required to submit a signed and notarized affidavit of intent to enter a covenant marriage, and that the application form indicate that the affidavit has been executed (Secs. 2.002 and 2.004). The county clerk is required to indicate on the marriage license whether the license is for a covenant marriage (Sec. 2.009). The bill requires the premarital education handbook to contain information on covenant marriage and requires the attorney general to include a full explanation of the terms and conditions of a covenant marriage in the premarital education handbook (Secs. 2.014 and 2.604). The bill provides that if a couple is already married, those applicants are required to file the affidavit with the clerk of the county that issued the original marriage license, or if the marriage was entered into outside the state, the clerk of the county in which the couple resides (Sec. 2.602). The bill provides that a couple must receive counseling from a legally authorized marriage counselor before entering into or designating a marriage as a covenant marriage (Sec. 2.603). Except as otherwise provided, the grounds and procedures for a suit for dissolution of a marriage apply to a suit for dissolution of a covenant marriage (Sec. 6.901). If both parties do not agree to waive the counseling requirements, the bill prohibits a spouse in a covenant marriage from filing a suit for the dissolution of the marriage unless the parties have received at least one session of marriage counseling from a person legally authorized to engage in marriage counseling or the spouse filing the petition for dissolution has received at least one session of marriage counseling after unsuccessfully attempting to schedule joint counseling (Sec. 6.902). Unless a spouse has committed family violence or both parties agree to waive the counseling requirements, a court is prohibited from rendering an order dissolving a covenant marriage if the spouses have not lived separate and apart without reconciliation for at least one year and one of the parties has not received at least six counseling sessions (Sec. 6.903). The petition in a suit for dissolution of a covenant marriage must state whether there are children of the marriage who are 18 years of age or who are otherwise entitled to child support. If the parties are parents of a child who is not subject to the continuing jurisdiction of another court, the suit for dissolution must include a suit affecting the parent-child relationship. Provisions regarding transfer of a suit affecting the parent-child relationship apply to a suit for a dissolution of a covenant marriage (Sec. 6.904). If the court finds that a spouse requires maintenance to meet the minimum reasonable needs of that spouse, the court is required to render a temporary order for maintenance in favor of that spouse in a suit for dissolution of a covenant marriage (Sec. 8.002). The bill amends the Local Government Code to require the county clerk to collect a $12.50 fee for either a covenant marriage license or an affidavit of intent to designate a marriage as a covenant marriage (Sec. 118.011). The bill provides that the fee must be paid at the time the license is issued (Sec. 118.018). EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.S.B. 70 modifies the original to remove, from the statement in the affidavit of intent to contract covenant marriage or to designate an existing marriage to a covenant marriage, the provision that the couple understands that the couple can get divorced or separated only for a reason stated in the premarital education handbook (Sec. 2.601). The substitute replaces provisions regarding the grounds for divorce in or legal separation from a covenant marriage with the provision that, except as otherwise provided, the grounds and procedures for a suit for dissolution of a marriage apply to a suit for dissolution of a covenant marriage (Sec. 6.901). The substitute specifies that, unless both parties to a covenant marriage agree to waive counseling requirements, a spouse is prohibited from filing a suit to dissolve a covenant marriage unless the parties have received at least one session of marriage counseling or the spouse filing the petition for dissolution has received at least one session of marriage counseling after unsuccessfully attempting to schedule joint counseling. The substitute removes the requirement that the couple participate in the counseling until the counselor or both spouses determine that the marriage is not salvageable (Sec. 6.902). The substitute adds provisions regarding a waiting period before dissolution of a covenant marriage and a mandatory joinder of a suit affecting a parent-child relationship (Secs. 6.903 and 6.904). The substitute specifies that if the court finds that a spouse requires maintenance to meet the minimum reasonable needs of that spouse, the court is required to render a temporary order for maintenance in favor of that spouse in a suit for dissolution of a covenant marriage (Sec. 8.002).