By Hartnett, Giddings, Christian, Isett,               H.B. No. 891

         75R12066 JMM-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to the age of a person who may be married without

 1-3     formalities.

 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 2.401, Family Code, as added by S.B. 334,

 1-6     Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997, is amended by

 1-7     adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:

 1-8           (c)  A person under 18 years of age may not:

 1-9                 (1)  be a party to an informal marriage; or

1-10                 (2)  execute a declaration of informal marriage under

1-11     Section 2.402.

1-12           SECTION 2.  Section 2.404(b), Family Code, as added by S.B.

1-13     334, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997, is

1-14     amended to read as follows:

1-15           (b)  The county clerk may not certify or record the

1-16     declaration if:

1-17                 (1)  either party fails to supply any information or

1-18     provide any document required by this subchapter;

1-19                 (2)  either party is under 18 [16] years of age [and

1-20     waiver of the age requirement has not been ordered]; or

1-21                 (3)  either party checks "false" in response to the

1-22     statement of relationship to the other party.

1-23           SECTION 3.  Section 6.101(a), Family Code, as added by S.B.

1-24     334, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997, is

1-25     amended to read as follows:

 2-1           (a)  The court may grant an annulment of a licensed [or

 2-2     informal] marriage of a person under 14 years of age unless a court

 2-3     order has been obtained as provided in Subchapter B, Chapter 2.

 2-4           SECTION 4.  Section 2.402(c), Family Code, as added by S.B.

 2-5     334, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997, is

 2-6     repealed.

 2-7           SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect only if S.B. 334, 75th

 2-8     Legislature, Regular Session, becomes law.  If that legislation

 2-9     does not become law, this Act has no effect.

2-10           SECTION 6.  The change in law made by this Act, as it relates

2-11     to a suit brought to prove the existence of an informal marriage,

2-12     applies only to a suit commenced on or after the effective date of

2-13     this Act.  A suit commenced before that date is governed by the law

2-14     in effect on the date the suit was filed, and the former law is

2-15     continued in effect for that purpose.

2-16           SECTION 7.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-17     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-18     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-19     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-20     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,

2-21     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its

2-22     passage, and it is so enacted.