HBA-SEP S.B. 70 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 70 By: Haywood Juvenile Justice & Family Issues 5/2/2001 Engrossed 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. Senate Bill 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 Senate Bill 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). The bill specifies the criteria that constitute grounds for divorce in or legal separation of a covenant marriage. The bill provides that the procedures for a suit for dissolution of a marriage also apply to a suit for dissolution or legal separation of a covenant marriage, however, a spouse in a covenant marriage is not authorized to file suit unless the parties to the marriage have received counseling (Secs. 6.902-6.904). The bill further provides that the court is required to render a temporary order for maintenance in favor of a spouse who files for a legal separation of a covenant marriage based on abandonment or 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.