80th Legislature: More Fun With Marriage

It may not be a “marriage amendment,”  by the right or an attack on “traditional marriage” by the left, but rather it’s a change in who may perform marriages.

And, you can bet it will be controversial.

State Rep. G.E. “Buddy” West (R-Odessa) has authored House Bill 319 which would add municipal court judges to the list of judges in Texas allowed to perform marriage ceremonies.

Traditionally in Texas, higher court judges (county, district, appeallate) and justices of the peace are the only other officials other than ministers or rabbis allowed to perform marriages.

Last session, State Rep. Dianne Delisi (R-Temple) did her best to get HB 1228 passed, which would have allowed current and retired legislators and statewide officeholders to perform weddings. The bill was panned up and down the blogsphere and by the mainstream media and went nowhere.

While West’s bill is likely to meet a similar fate of going nowhere, it has a better chance than Delisi’s misguided efforts.

The war over this one, however, may be a bit more bloddy.

And, in all frankness, it all boils down to the Benjamins.

Justices of the peace are allowed to charge money for performing weddings. And, it’s money they get to keep personally—not money that goes to the county or the state.

For more than a decade, municipal court judges have wanted in on this action for several reasons, mainly the financial windfall it could provide them.

The Texas Justice of the Peace and Constable’s Association has for years fought against expanding the Texas Family Code to allow municipal judges to perform marriage ceremonies.

It’s doubtful that this bill will pass, but it is written in a way to make it more paletable to the masses.

It is written to allow only municipal judges in cities with a population less than 20,000 to perform wedding ceremonies.

That may actually make the bill more likely for defeat, however, because justices of the peace in rural counties easily outnumber those in the state’s largest counties.

On the other hand, justices of the peace in rural counties often moonlight as municipal judges, so that may make a difference as well.

Only time will tell, but I doubt we’ll see this one pass. But, get ready for a battle royale between the Texas JP’s & Constables Association and the Texas Municipal Court’s Association.

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