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         741.0307Marriage 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.