Florida Senate - 2020 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 682
Ì6765702Î676570
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
01/30/2020 .
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The Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs (Baxley)
recommended the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. Section 741.0307, Florida Statutes, is created
6 to read:
7 741.0307 Marriage Education Committee; Florida Guide to a
8 Healthy Marriage.—
9 (1) There is created within the Department of Children and
10 Families, for administrative purposes only, the Marriage
11 Education Committee for the sole purpose of creating the Florida
12 Guide to a Healthy Marriage. Except as otherwise provided in
13 this section, the committee shall operate in a manner consistent
14 with s. 20.052. The committee shall consist of six marriage
15 education and family advocates, one of whom shall be appointed
16 by the Florida Chapter of the National Association of Social
17 Workers, one of whom shall be appointed by the Florida Family
18 Therapy Association, and one of whom shall be appointed by the
19 Florida Mental Health Counseling Association, one of whom shall
20 be appointed by the Governor, one of whom shall be appointed by
21 the President of the Senate, and one of whom shall be appointed
22 by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Members of the
23 committee shall reflect the ethnic and gender diversity of the
24 state. The committee shall be appointed by September 1, 2020,
25 and the appointees shall each serve a 1-year term or until such
26 time as the Florida Guide to a Healthy Marriage has been
27 created, whichever is earlier. The committee shall submit the
28 completed guide to the Governor, the President of the Senate,
29 and the Speaker of the House of Representatives and terminates
30 with the submission of the guide. The committee shall
31 subsequently be reconstituted once every 10 years after July 1,
32 2020, to review and update the contents of the guide. The
33 reconstituted committee shall consist of six marriage education
34 and family advocates, one of whom shall be appointed by the
35 Florida Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers,
36 one of whom shall be appointed by the Florida Family Therapy
37 Association, and one of whom shall be appointed by the Florida
38 Mental Health Counseling Association, one of whom shall be
39 appointed by the Governor, one of whom shall be appointed by the
40 President of the Senate, and one of whom shall be appointed by
41 the Speaker of the House of Representatives. A vacancy on the
42 committee shall be filled for the unexpired portion of the term
43 in the same manner as the original appointment.
44 (2) The Florida Guide to a Healthy Marriage shall include,
45 but is not limited to:
46 (a) Resources regarding conflict management, communication
47 skills, family expectations, financial responsibilities and
48 management, domestic violence resources, and parenting
49 responsibilities.
50 (b) Current information from marriage education and family
51 advocates to assist in forming and maintaining a long-term
52 marital relationship.
53 (c) Information regarding premarital education, marriage
54 enrichment education, and resources that are available to help
55 restore a marriage that is potentially moving toward
56 dissolution.
57 (d) Contact information and website links to additional
58 resources and local professional and community services to
59 further assist a marital relationship.
60 (3) The Marriage Education Committee shall oversee the
61 design and layout of the guide. The committee shall raise funds
62 from private sources to cover the costs of the design and
63 layout. The committee may raise funds from private sources to
64 cover the costs of printing and distributing copies of the
65 guide. If adequate funds are not raised to cover the costs of
66 printing and distribution, the committee will not be required to
67 print or distribute copies of the guide.
68 (4) The clerk of the circuit court in each judicial circuit
69 shall post an electronic copy of the guide on its website.
70 Additionally, if the Marriage Education Committee provides
71 printed copies of the guide to the office of the clerk of the
72 circuit court, the clerk shall make the guide available to
73 marriage license applicants. The clerk of the circuit court is
74 encouraged to provide a list of course providers and sites where
75 marriage and relationship skill-building classes are available.
76 (5) The Marriage Education Committee shall review the guide
77 and provide a report to the Governor, the President of the
78 Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives every 10
79 years, or as soon thereafter as practicable, detailing changes
80 made to the guide and recommending further updates.
81 Section 2. Subsection (4) of section 741.04, Florida
82 Statutes, is amended to read
83 741.04 Issuance of marriage license.—
84 (4) A county court judge or clerk of the circuit court may
85 not issue a license for the marriage of any person unless the
86 county court judge or clerk of the circuit court is first
87 presented with both of the following:
88 (a) A written statement, signed by both parties, which
89 specifies whether the parties, individually or together, have
90 completed a premarital preparation course.
91 (b) A written statement that verifies that both parties
92 have obtained and read or otherwise accessed the information
93 contained in the handbook or other electronic media presentation
94 of the rights and responsibilities of parties to a marriage
95 specified in s. 741.0306.
96 (b) A statement that verifies that both parties have
97 obtained and read or otherwise accessed the information
98 contained in the Florida Guide to a Healthy Marriage, as created
99 under s. 741.0307, or some other presentation of information
100 regarding conflict management, communication skills, family
101 expectations, financial responsibilities and management,
102 domestic violence resources, and parenting responsibilities.
103 Section 3. Section 741.0306, F.S., is repealed.
104 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.
105
106
107 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
108 And the title is amended as follows:
109 Delete everything before the enacting clause
110 and insert:
111 A bill to be entitled
112 An act relating to the Florida Guide to a Healthy
113 Marriage; creating s. 741.0307, F.S.; creating the
114 Marriage Education Committee within the Department of
115 Children and Families for the purpose of creating the
116 Florida Guide to a Healthy Marriage; providing for
117 committee operation; providing for appointment of
118 committee members and terms of office; requiring the
119 committee to submit the completed guide to the
120 Governor and the Legislature; providing for committee
121 termination; providing for periodic reconstitution of
122 the committee to review and update the guide;
123 providing requirements for filling vacancies;
124 providing requirements for the guide’s content;
125 requiring the committee to oversee the design and
126 layout of the guide and obtain private funds to cover
127 associated costs; authorizing the committee to obtain
128 private funds for the costs of printing and
129 distributing copies of the guide; authorizing the
130 committee to distribute printed copies of the guide
131 under certain circumstances; requiring clerks of court
132 to post an electronic copy of the guide on the court’s
133 website and provide printed copies to applicants for
134 marriage licenses under certain circumstances;
135 encouraging clerks of court to provide a list of
136 certain course providers and websites where certain
137 classes are available; providing for periodic review
138 and revision of the guide; requiring the committee to
139 periodically submit a report to the Governor and the
140 Legislature detailing its revisions to the guide and
141 recommendations for further updates; amending s.
142 741.04, F.S.; prohibiting the issuance of a marriage
143 license until petitioners verify that both parties
144 have obtained and read the Florida Guide to a Healthy
145 Marriage or some other presentation of similar
146 information; removing the requirement related to the
147 family law handbook; repealing s. 741.0306, F.S.;
148 providing an effective date.