84R7773 EES-D
 
  By: Sheets H.B. No. 3734
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the application for and issuance of a marriage license
  and the marriage of a minor.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 2.003, Family Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 2.003.  APPLICATION FOR LICENSE BY MINOR. In addition
  to the other requirements provided by this chapter, a person 16
  years of age or older but under 18 years of age applying for a
  license must provide to the county clerk:
               (1)  both:
                     (A)  documents establishing, as provided by
  Section 2.102, parental consent for the person to the marriage; and
                     (B)  a court order granted under Section 2.103
  authorizing the marriage of the person; or 
               (2)  documents establishing that a prior marriage of
  the person has been dissolved[; or
               [(3)     a court order granted under Section 2.103
  authorizing the marriage of the person].
         SECTION 2.  Sections 2.006(a) and (b), Family Code, are
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  If an applicant who is 18 years of age or older is unable
  to appear personally before the county clerk to apply for a marriage
  license, any adult person or the other applicant may apply on behalf
  of the absent applicant.
         (b)  The person applying on behalf of an absent applicant
  shall provide to the clerk:
               (1)  notwithstanding Section 132.001, Civil Practice
  and Remedies Code, the notarized affidavit of the absent applicant
  as provided by this subchapter; and
               (2)  proof of the identity and age of the absent
  applicant under Section 2.005(b)[; and
               [(3)     if required because the absent applicant is a
  person under 18 years of age, documents establishing that a prior
  marriage has been dissolved, a court order authorizing the marriage
  of the absent, underage applicant, or documents establishing
  consent by a parent or a person who has legal authority to consent
  to the marriage, including:
                     [(A)     proof of identity of the parent or person
  with legal authority to consent to the marriage under Section
  2.005(b); and
                     [(B)     proof that the parent or person has the
  legal authority to consent to the marriage for the applicant under
  rules adopted under Section 2.102(j)].
         SECTION 3.  Section 2.009(a), Family Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  Except as provided by Subsections (b) and (d), the
  county clerk may not issue a license if either applicant:
               (1)  fails to provide the information required by this
  subchapter;
               (2)  fails to submit proof of age and identity;
               (3)  [is under 16 years of age and has not been granted
  a court order as provided by Section 2.103;
               [(4)]  is 16 years of age or older but under 18 years of
  age and has not presented [at least one of the following]:
                     (A)  both:
                           (i)  parental consent as provided by Section
  2.102; and
                           (ii)  a court order as provided by Section
  2.103; or
                     (B)  documents establishing that a prior marriage
  of the applicant has been dissolved[; or
                     [(C)  a court order as provided by Section 2.103];
               (4) [(5)]  checks "false" in response to a statement in
  the application, except as provided by Subsection (b) or (d), or
  fails to make a required declaration in an affidavit required of an
  absent applicant; or
               (5) [(6)]  indicates that the applicant has been
  divorced within the last 30 days, unless:
                     (A)  the applicants were divorced from each other;
  or
                     (B)  the prohibition against remarriage is waived
  as provided by Section 6.802.
         SECTION 4.  Subchapter B, Chapter 2, Family Code, is amended
  by adding Section 2.1015 to read as follows:
         Sec. 2.1015.  PARENTAL CONSENT AND COURT ORDER FOR UNDERAGE
  APPLICANT REQUIRED. If an applicant is 16 years of age or older but
  under 18 years of age, the county clerk may only issue a marriage
  license if:
               (1)  parental consent is given as provided by Section
  2.102; and 
               (2)  a court grants the applicant permission to marry
  as provided by Section 2.103.
         SECTION 5.  Section 2.102, Family Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (a), (b), (d), and (e) and adding Subsections
  (a-1) and (b-1) to read as follows:
         (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (a-1), the county clerk
  may not issue a marriage license for an underage applicant unless
  consent is given by each living parent of the applicant and any
  person who has the court-ordered right to consent to marriage for
  the applicant [If an applicant is 16 years of age or older but under
  18 years of age, the county clerk shall issue the license if
  parental consent is given as provided by this section].
         (a-1)  Consent is not required to be given by a parent of an
  underage applicant if the parent:
               (1)  is incarcerated in jail or prison;
               (2)  has been found by a court to be incompetent;
               (3)  does not have actual or court-ordered possession
  of or access to the applicant; or
               (4)  because of illness or other incapacity, lacks the
  capacity to consent. 
         (b)  Parental consent must be evidenced by a written
  declaration on a form supplied by the county clerk in which the
  person consents to the marriage and swears that the person is a
  parent [(if there is no person who has the court-ordered right to
  consent to marriage for the applicant)] or a person who has the
  court-ordered right to consent to marriage for the applicant
  [(whether an individual, authorized agency, or court)].
         (b-1)  If the parent of an underage applicant is deceased or
  not required to give consent under Subsection (a-1), the applicant
  shall submit an affidavit to the county clerk stating that the
  parent is deceased or the reason the parent's consent is not
  required. 
         (d)  If a [the] person giving parental consent resides in
  another state, the consent may be acknowledged before an officer
  authorized to issue marriage licenses in that state.
         (e)  If a [the] person giving parental consent is unable
  because of illness or incapacity to comply with the provisions of
  Subsection (c) or (d), the consent may be acknowledged before any
  officer authorized to take acknowledgments. A consent under this
  subsection must be accompanied by a physician's affidavit stating
  that the person giving parental consent is unable to comply because
  of illness or incapacity.
         SECTION 6.  Section 2.103(a), Family Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  A minor who is 16 years of age or older may petition the
  court in the minor's own name for an order granting permission to
  marry. In a suit under this section, the trial judge may advance the
  suit if the best interest of the applicant would be served by an
  early hearing.
         SECTION 7.  Section 6.205, Family Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 6.205.  MARRIAGE TO MINOR. A marriage is void if either
  party to the marriage is younger than 16 years of age[, unless a
  court order has been obtained under Section 2.103].
         SECTION 8.  Subchapter D, Chapter 261, Family Code, is
  amended by adding Section 261.318 to read as follows:
         Sec. 261.318.  INVESTIGATION OF PENDING FORCED OR COERCED
  MARRIAGE. The department shall make a prompt and thorough
  investigation of a report of a child being forced or coerced into
  entering a marriage. The department may remove the child from the
  child's home and place the child in substitute care as provided by
  this subtitle if the department determines that removal and
  substitute care are in the best interest of the child and necessary
  to prevent the pending forced or coerced marriage. 
         SECTION 9.  (a) Sections 2.003, 2.006, 2.009, and 2.102,
  Family Code, as amended by this Act, and Section 2.1015, Family
  Code, as added by this Act, apply only to an application for a
  marriage license filed on or after the effective date of this Act.
  An application filed before that date is governed by the law in
  effect on the date the application was filed, and the former law is
  continued in effect for that purpose.
         (b)  Section 2.103, Family Code, as amended by this Act,
  applies only to a suit under that section filed on or after the
  effective date of this Act. A suit filed before that date is
  governed by the law in effect on the date the suit was filed, and the
  former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         (c)  Section 6.205, Family Code, as amended by this Act,
  applies only to a marriage entered into on or after the effective
  date of this Act. A marriage entered into before that date is
  governed by the law in effect on the date the marriage was entered
  into, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 10.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.