BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 4621

By: Hernandez

Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The bill author has informed the committee that current statute does not explicitly allow judges to submit a completed marriage license through electronic means, which creates avoidable administrative lag that prevents couples from receiving their marriage license immediately after their marriage has been officiated by a judge. C.S.H.B. 4621 seeks to grant judges more flexibility and allow them to provide completed marriage licenses to couples immediately after officiating by explicitly authorizing a current state or federal judge to scan a completed marriage license and electronically submit it to the county clerk.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

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.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 4621 amends the Family Code to authorize a current federal or state judge who conducts a marriage ceremony to return the marriage license, as required under current statute, electronically by scanning the completed license and submitting the scanned image of the license to the county clerk who issued the license. The bill requires the judge to provide the completed license to the applicants after electronically submitting the scanned image. The bill authorizes a county clerk who receives and records a returned marriage license by electronic submission, on request by the applicants, to email the recorded copy of the marriage license to an email address provided to the county clerk by the applicants.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2025.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 4621 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute includes a requirement absent from the introduced for a judge who electronically returns a completed marriage license to the county clerk to provide the completed license to the applicants after electronically submitting the scanned image.

Whereas the introduced required a county clerk who receives a returned marriage license by electronic submission to mail a certified copy of the license to the address indicated on the application, the substitute authorizes a county clerk who receives and records a returned marriage license by electronic submission, on request by the applicants, to email the recorded copy of the license to an email address provided to the county clerk by the applicants.