BILL ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 1754 By: Crabb 03-24-95 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND The Family Code currently authorizes only district and county judges to waive, upon finding good cause, the required 72-hour waiting period following the issuance of a marriage license. According the Office of Court Administration, there are currently 575 district and statutory county courts and 98 appellate court judges. Expanding this jurisdiction to include the appellate court judges would represent only a 17 percent increase in those authorized to grant the waiver. PURPOSE As substituted, CSHB 1754 expands the current authority to waive the waiting period requirement to include the state appellate courts. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Sections 1.82(c) and (d), Family Code, as follows: Sec. 1.82(c) Prohibits a marriage ceremony to take place during the waiting period unless an applicant obtains a waiver under Subsection (d) of this section. (d) Requires a judge of a district or county court, a justice of the supreme court, a judge of the court of criminal appeals or a court of appeals to grant a waiver upon request of an applicant and upon finding good cause. SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1995. SECTION 3. Emergency clause. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE As filed, HB 1754 grants waiver authority of the 72-hour waiting period requirement to any judge authorized to conduct a marriage ceremony under Section 1.83(d) of the Family Code. The substitute only expands the current jurisdiction to the state appellate courts. SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE ACTION H.B. 1754 was considered in a public hearing on 22 March 1995. The following person testified against the bill: Jim F. Humphrey, Justices of the Peace and Constables Assn. of Texas. Representative Cuellar offered a substitute which was adopted without objection. The bill was reported favorably as substituted, with the recommendation that it do pass and be printed and be sent to the Committee on Local and Consent Calendars, by a record vote of 5 ayes, 0 nays, 0 pnv, and 4 absent.