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House Bill 2685 |
House Author: Chisum et al. |
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Effective: 9-1-08 |
Senate Sponsor: Estes |
House Bill 2685 amends the Family Code to waive the required waiting period after the issuance of a marriage license for an applicant who completes a premarital education course and presents a completion certificate. The bill increases the duration of a recommended premarital education course from four to eight hours, and it eliminates a provision specifying the acceptable methods of instruction. The bill establishes requirements relating to the content of such a course, course providers, and curriculum, and it requires a course provider to issue a completion certificate with prescribed content. The bill requires the Health and Human Services Commission to maintain an Internet website where course providers may register to indicate their curriculum, and it eliminates a requirement that the county clerk maintain a similar roster and a requirement that a course provider notify the county clerk to provide professional credentials or evidence of religious affiliation.
House Bill 2685 amends the Local Government Code to increase the fee for a marriage license from $30 to $60, and it waives the fee for an applicant who completes a premarital education course and provides a completion certificate. Of the proceeds from a marriage license fee, the comptroller is required to deposit $20, rather than $12.50, in the child abuse and neglect prevention trust account and to deposit $10 in the family trust fund account.