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.