Bill Text: FL S0682 | 2020 | Regular Session | Comm Sub

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Florida Healthy Marriage Handbook

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (? 2-1)

Status: (Failed) 2020-03-14 - Died in Rules [S0682 Detail]

Download: Florida-2020-S0682-Comm_Sub.html

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       Florida Senate - 2020                              CS for SB 682
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; and
       Senator Baxley
       
       
       
       
       586-02770-20                                           2020682c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the Florida Guide to a Healthy
    3         Marriage; creating s. 741.0307, F.S.; creating the
    4         Marriage Education Committee within the Department of
    5         Children and Families for the purpose of creating the
    6         Florida Guide to a Healthy Marriage; providing for
    7         committee operation; providing for appointment of
    8         committee members and terms of office; requiring the
    9         committee to submit the completed guide to the
   10         Governor and the Legislature; providing for committee
   11         termination; providing for periodic reconstitution of
   12         the committee to review and update the guide;
   13         providing requirements for filling vacancies;
   14         providing requirements for the guide’s content;
   15         requiring the committee to oversee the design and
   16         layout of the guide and obtain private funds to cover
   17         associated costs; authorizing the committee to obtain
   18         private funds for the costs of printing and
   19         distributing copies of the guide; authorizing the
   20         committee to distribute printed copies of the guide
   21         under certain circumstances; requiring clerks of court
   22         to post an electronic copy of the guide on the court’s
   23         website and provide printed copies to applicants for
   24         marriage licenses under certain circumstances;
   25         encouraging clerks of court to provide a list of
   26         certain course providers and websites where certain
   27         classes are available; providing for periodic review
   28         and revision of the guide; requiring the committee to
   29         periodically submit a report to the Governor and the
   30         Legislature detailing its revisions to the guide and
   31         recommendations for further updates; amending s.
   32         741.04, F.S.; prohibiting the issuance of a marriage
   33         license until petitioners verify that both parties
   34         have obtained and read the Florida Guide to a Healthy
   35         Marriage or some other presentation of similar
   36         information; deleting a requirement related to the
   37         family law handbook to conform a provision to changes
   38         made by the act; repealing s. 741.0306, F.S., relating
   39         to the creation of a family law handbook; providing an
   40         effective date.
   41          
   42  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   43  
   44         Section 1. Section 741.0307, Florida Statutes, is created
   45  to read:
   46         741.0307 Marriage Education Committee; Florida Guide to a
   47  Healthy Marriage.—
   48         (1) There is created within the Department of Children and
   49  Families, for administrative purposes only, the Marriage
   50  Education Committee for the sole purpose of creating the Florida
   51  Guide to a Healthy Marriage. Except as otherwise provided in
   52  this section, the committee shall operate in a manner consistent
   53  with s. 20.052. The committee shall consist of six marriage
   54  education and family advocates, one of whom shall be appointed
   55  by the Florida Chapter of the National Association of Social
   56  Workers, one of whom shall be appointed by the Florida Family
   57  Therapy Association, one of whom shall be appointed by the
   58  Florida Mental Health Counseling Association, one of whom shall
   59  be appointed by the Governor, one of whom shall be appointed by
   60  the President of the Senate, and one of whom shall be appointed
   61  by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The membership
   62  of the committee must reflect the ethnic and gender diversity of
   63  the state. The committee shall be appointed by September 1,
   64  2020, and the appointees shall each serve a 1-year term or until
   65  such time as its work in creating the Florida Guide to a Healthy
   66  Marriage has been completed, whichever is earlier. A vacancy on
   67  the committee shall be filled for the unexpired portion of the
   68  term in the same manner as the original appointment. The
   69  committee shall submit the completed guide to the Governor, the
   70  President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
   71  Representatives and terminates with the submission of the guide.
   72  The committee shall subsequently be reconstituted once every 10
   73  years after July 1, 2020, to review and update the contents of
   74  the guide. The reconstituted committee shall consist of six
   75  marriage education and family advocates, one of whom shall be
   76  appointed by the Florida Chapter of the National Association of
   77  Social Workers, one of whom shall be appointed by the Florida
   78  Family Therapy Association, one of whom shall be appointed by
   79  the Florida Mental Health Counseling Association, one of whom
   80  shall be appointed by the Governor, one of whom shall be
   81  appointed by the President of the Senate, and one of whom shall
   82  be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
   83         (2) The Florida Guide to a Healthy Marriage must include,
   84  but need not be limited to:
   85         (a) Resources regarding conflict management, communication
   86  skills, family expectations, financial responsibilities and
   87  management, domestic violence resources, and parenting
   88  responsibilities.
   89         (b) Current information from marriage education and family
   90  advocates to assist in forming and maintaining a long-term
   91  marital relationship.
   92         (c) Information regarding premarital education, marriage
   93  enrichment education, and resources that are available to help
   94  restore a marriage that is potentially moving toward
   95  dissolution.
   96         (d) Contact information and website links to additional
   97  resources and local professional and community services to
   98  further assist a marital relationship.
   99         (3) The committee shall oversee the design and layout of
  100  the guide. The committee shall raise funds from private sources
  101  to cover the costs of the design and layout. The committee may
  102  raise funds from private sources to cover the costs of printing
  103  and distributing copies of the guide. If sufficient funds are
  104  not raised to cover the costs of printing and distribution, the
  105  committee is not required to print or distribute copies of the
  106  guide.
  107         (4) The clerk of the circuit court in each judicial circuit
  108  shall post an electronic copy of the guide on its website.
  109  Additionally, if the committee provides printed copies of the
  110  guide to the office of the clerk of the circuit court, the clerk
  111  must make the guide available to marriage license applicants.
  112  The clerk of the circuit court is encouraged to provide a list
  113  of course providers and sites where marriage and relationship
  114  skill-building classes are available.
  115         (5) The committee shall review the guide and provide a
  116  report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
  117  Speaker of the House of Representatives every 10 years, or as
  118  soon thereafter as practicable, detailing changes made to the
  119  guide and recommending further updates.
  120         Section 2. Subsection (4) of section 741.04, Florida
  121  Statutes, is amended to read:
  122         741.04 Issuance of marriage license.—
  123         (4) A county court judge or clerk of the circuit court may
  124  not issue a license for the marriage of any person unless the
  125  county court judge or clerk of the circuit court is first
  126  presented with both of the following:
  127         (a) A written statement, signed by both parties, which
  128  specifies whether the parties, individually or together, have
  129  completed a premarital preparation course.
  130         (b) A written statement that verifies that both parties
  131  have obtained and read or otherwise accessed the information
  132  contained in the Florida Guide to a Healthy Marriage, as created
  133  under s. 741.0307, or some other presentation of information
  134  regarding conflict management, communication skills, family
  135  expectations, financial responsibilities and management,
  136  domestic violence resources, and parenting responsibilities
  137  handbook or other electronic media presentation of the rights
  138  and responsibilities of parties to a marriage specified in s.
  139  741.0306.
  140         Section 3. Section 741.0306, F.S., is repealed.
  141         Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.