Text of CO HB 1272 (2020)

Second Regular Session Seventy-second General Assembly STATE OF COLORADO INTRODUCED LLS NO. 20-0588.01 Brita Darling x2241 HOUSE BILL 20-1272 House Committees Senate Committees State, Veterans, & Military Affairs A BILL FOR AN ACT CONCERNING PROMOTING THE FORMATION OF THE NATURAL FAMILY 101 STRUCTURE, AND, IN CONNECTION THEREWITH, ENFORCING 102 STATE LAW THAT MARRIAGE IS BETWEEN ONE MAN AND ONE 103 WOMAN AND RESTRICTING ADOPTION OF CHILDREN BY SPOUSES 104 IN A MARRIAGE AND PARTNERS IN A CIVIL UNION TO THOSE 105 MARRIAGES AND CIVIL UNIONS THAT CONSIST OF ONE MAN AND 106 ONE WOMAN. 107 Bill Summary (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at http://leg.colorado.gov.) HOUSE SPONSORSHIP Humphrey, Baisley, Sandridge, Williams D. SENATE SPONSORSHIP (None), Shading denotes HOUSE amendment. Double underlining denotes SENATE amendment. Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material to be added to existing statute. Dashes through the words indicate deletions from existing statute. The bill permits a clerk to issue a license to marry and a marriage certificate only upon satisfactory proof that the marriage will be between one man and one woman, regardless of judicial decisions to the contrary. The bill authorizes a court, county department, or licensed child placement agency to approve an adoptive placement of a child only with prospective parents whose marriage consists of one man and one woman, or whose civil union, if it were considered a marriage, is only between one man and one woman, regardless of any judicial decisions to the contrary, and to allow stepparent adoptions only to a parent who is in a marriage or civil union that is between one man and one woman. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado: 1 SECTION 1. Short title. The short title of this act is the 2 "Colorado Natural Marriage and Adoption Act". 3 SECTION 2. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly 4 hereby finds and declares that: 5 (a) Defining marriage is the duty and right of each state, not of the 6 federal government and federal courts; 7 (b) Centuries of history, tradition, and morality support the fact 8 that natural marriage is between one man and one woman; 9 (c) Rigorous studies completed since the United States Supreme 10 Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, 135 S. Ct. 2584 (2015), indicate 11 that children raised by parents in a same-sex relationship face greater 12 emotional and developmental difficulties, as well as other difficulties, 13 including a higher prevalence of abuse, than children raised by mothers 14 and fathers, and particularly by their biological parents; 15 (d) No family is perfect, but children are more likely to thrive 16 when raised by their married biological mother and father; and 17 (e) The United State Supreme Court should refrain from imposing 18 a redefinition of marriage on the entire country and states should remain 19 HB20-1272 -2- free to formulate laws regarding marriage, divorce, adoption, and related 1 matters as they seek to determine what serves the best interests of 2 children who may be in unfortunate circumstances. 3 (2) Therefore, the general assembly declares that existing 4 Colorado law defining valid marriage as between one man and one 5 woman should be enforced as written and determined by the people of the 6 state and should be allowed to recognize that placement of children in 7 natural families is in the best interests of Colorado's children. 8 SECTION 3. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 14-2-106, amend 9 (1)(a)(I) and (1)(a)(II); and add (1)(a)(III) as follows: 10 14-2-106. License to marry. (1) (a) When a marriage license 11 application has been completed and signed by both parties to a 12 prospective marriage and at least one party has appeared before the 13 county clerk and recorder and has paid the marriage license fee of seven 14 dollars, a fee of twenty dollars to be transmitted by the county clerk and 15 recorder to the state treasurer and credited by the treasurer to the 16 Colorado domestic abuse program fund created in section 39-22-802 (1), 17 and an additional amount established pursuant to section 25-2-121, such 18 amount to be credited to the vital statistics records cash fund pursuant to 19 section 25-2-121, the county clerk shall issue a license to marry and a 20 marriage certificate form upon being furnished: 21 (I) Satisfactory proof that each party to the marriage will have 22 attained the age of eighteen years at the time the marriage license 23 becomes effective; or, if over the age of sixteen years but has not attained 24 the age of eighteen years, has judicial approval, as provided in section 25 14-2-108; and 26 (II) Satisfactory proof that the marriage is not prohibited, as 27 HB20-1272 -3- provided in section 14-2-110; AND 1 (III) NOTWITHSTANDING ANY JUDICIAL DECISIONS TO THE 2 CONTRARY, SATISFACTORY PROOF THAT THE MARRIAGE WILL BE IN 3 CONFORMITY WITH SECTION 31 OF ARTICLE II OF THE STATE CONSTITUTION 4 AND SECTION 14-2-104 (1)(b). 5 SECTION 4. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 19-5-206, add (1.5) 6 as follows: 7 19-5-206. Placement for purposes of adoption. 8 (1.5) NOTWITHSTANDING ANY JUDICIAL DECISIONS TO THE CONTRARY, A 9 COURT, COUNTY DEPARTMENT, OR LICENSED CHILD PLACEMENT AGENCY 10 SHALL ONLY APPROVE AN ADOPTIVE PLACEMENT OF A CHILD WITH 11 SPOUSES WHOSE MARRIAGE IS IN CONFORMITY WITH SECTION 31 OF 12 ARTICLE II OF THE STATE CONSTITUTION AND SECTION 14-2-104 (1)(b). 13 SECTION 5. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 19-5-202, amend (3), 14 (4), and (5) as follows: 15 19-5-202. Who may adopt. (3) A person having a living spouse 16 from whom he THE PERSON is not legally separated shall petition jointly 17 with such spouse, unless such spouse is the natural parent of the child to 18 be adopted or has previously adopted the child. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY 19 JUDICIAL DECISIONS TO THE CONTRARY, ONLY A SPOUSE WHOSE MARRIAGE 20 IS IN CONFORMITY WITH SECTION 31 OF ARTICLE II OF THE STATE 21 CONSTITUTION AND SECTION 14-2-104 (1)(b) MAY PETITION THE COURT 22 FOR A DECREE OF ADOPTION. 23 (4) A person having a living partner in a civil union from whom 24 the person is not legally separated shall petition jointly with the partner, 25 unless the partner is the natural parent of the child to be adopted or has 26 previously adopted the child. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY JUDICIAL 27 HB20-1272 -4- DECISIONS TO THE CONTRARY, ONLY A PARTNER IN A CIVIL UNION WHOSE 1 UNION, IF IT WERE A MARRIAGE, WOULD BE IN CONFORMITY WITH SECTION 2 31 OF ARTICLE II OF THE STATE CONSTITUTION AND SECTION 14-2-104 3 (1)(b), MAY PETITION THE COURT FOR A DECREE OF ADOPTION. 4 (5) A person who is a partner in a civil union may adopt a child 5 of the other partner through the same process outlined in section 19-5-203 6 for a stepparent adoption and shall be considered a stepparent for the 7 purpose of determining whether a child is available for adoption pursuant 8 to section 19-5-203 (1). NOTWITHSTANDING ANY JUDICIAL DECISIONS TO 9 THE CONTRARY, ONLY A PARTNER IN A CIVIL UNION WHOSE UNION, IF IT 10 WERE A MARRIAGE, WOULD BE IN CONFORMITY WITH SECTION 31 OF 11 ARTICLE II OF THE STATE CONSTITUTION AND SECTION 14-2-104 (1)(b) 12 MAY PETITION THE COURT FOR A DECREE OF ADOPTION. 13 SECTION 6. Act subject to petition - effective date. This act 14 takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following the expiration of the 15 ninety-day period after final adjournment of the general assembly (August 16 5, 2020, if adjournment sine die is on May 6, 2020); except that, if a 17 referendum petition is filed pursuant to section 1 (3) of article V of the 18 state constitution against this act or an item, section, or part of this act 19 within such period, then the act, item, section, or part will not take effect 20 unless approved by the people at the general election to be held in 21 November 2020 and, in such case, will take effect on the date of the 22 official declaration of the vote thereon by the governor. 23 HB20-1272 -5-