Total Divorce Blog

In yet another effort to strengthen marriage and curb divorce rates in the state, the Texas House tentatively approved a proposal Wednesday that would waive the marriage license fee for couples who attend premarital education courses. Representative Warren Chisum sponsored this proposed law and said that he wants people to know about the responsibilities and expectations that come with marriage.

Specifically, an Associated Press story detailed that these Texas premarital education classes on conflict management and communication skills would be taught by certified instructors like marriage counselors, clergy, mental health professionals and others. Under a provision added by Representative Mike Villarreal, these classes would also address early childhood development and parenting issues.

Those couples who take the mandated eight hours of premarital education would not have to pay the $100 marriage license fee that this Texas bill stipulates and raises from the current $30 fee in the state. Taking these premarital education classes would also save Texas couples from having to wait 72 hours to get their marriage licenses.

Some members of the Texas House complained that this bill would essentially be implementing a marriage tax on people who chose to not take the class. Chisum said in the story that he would reduce the proposed $100 marriage license fee to $60 before the bill was given final consideration. Representative Garnet Coleman said that the fee doesn’t matter and contested that the bill should simply be voted down because the government shouldn’t step in on relationships.

Ultimately, this proposed Texas bill is just another example of how states across the country are trying to bolster marriage to stifle divorce. Just last week, The Divorce Blog detailed similar legislation in Nebraska. In addition to Chisum’s current bill, Texas has also considered covenant marriage legislation this year as have legislatures in Oklahoma and Indiana.

The Texas House approved this bill, HB 2685, yesterday by a 78-63 vote and was expected to give it final consideration today. If this bill were to eventually become law, it would take effect on September 1st of this year. Of further interest, a related grant bill (HB 2683) would address the issue of people who can not afford to take the premarital education course by giving them access to scholarships for these classes. We’ll keep you updated on these pieces of Texas legislation and similar proposed laws throughout the country.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 12th, 2007 at 3:52 pm and is filed under Divorce Law. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.