TX Leg: Marriage Fee Bill Passes, Legislators Slumber
About a month ago, we reported that Rep. Warren Chisum was pushing another weird bill through the Texas House, this time one that would force all Texans to either take a State-approved marriage counseling course or pay an increased marriage fee in order to be married in this state. This bill eventually passed the House, but minus a lot of Chisum's heavy-handed language, thanks to the alert efforts of House members from both parties. Job well done.
BUT, this isn't the end of the story, friends. The bill subsequently went to the Senate for consideration, and there it reacquired the same old intrusive language that would force us to either pay a higher marriage fee (twice the current fee, to be exact) or, alternatively, take a marriage counseling course approved by the State of Texas. And because Chisum's bill was altered, the Senate version came back to the House for another vote. There, surely, this silly piece of public policy would meet its final doom once and for all, thanks to the opposition it had seen the first go-round. But...it didn't. It passed without anyone saying a word.
How is this explained, you ask? Well, quite simply, according to the Houston Chronicle, our state Representatives were just not paying attention. Rep. Robert Talton (R-Pasadena) and Rep. Tony Goolsby (R-Dallas), for example, both told the Chronicle that they accidentally voted for this bizarre legislation when it returned from the Senate this week because -- and, hey, they're the first to admit it -- they just weren't paying attention. As they rubbed their eyes with their fists and yawned, their nightcaps resting atop their heads crookedly as they smacked their lips and slowly rose to meet the new day, Reps. Talton and Goolsby further told the Chronicle that they still remain against the marriage fee hike, of course, and that they'd love to change their vote if only they could. Like Rip Van Winkle, these veteran House members -- and many others, judging by the House final vote -- awoke after sleeping for an age, only to find that the world had passed them by. Alas, how swiftly the days doth pass!
And so, having passed both cameras of the Legislature, the bill now goes to Governor Perry's desk for the final signature that will turn the bill into law. If Mr. Perry does in fact choose to sign the bill, we'll all have our elected Representatives and Senators to thank for just a little more governmental meddling in our private lives. Thanks a lot, 80th Texas Legislature.
Image courtesy of Wikipedia. Video of old man snoring courtesy of YouTube.
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