State: Bush envisions state buttressing marriages

The governor talked generally about the idea as part of a brainstorming session with a panel he appointed to help his transition into his next four-year term.

Bush said he wanted to "have a conversation" with Floridians "about how important strong, wholesome family life is for everyone."

"The demands placed on government because family life is not as strong as it could be are huge," Bush said.

Besides, he said, "government is already involved in every aspect of people's lives," including public schools and social programs.

Bush wants to seek money that his brother, President Bush, has asked Congress to set aside for a federal initiative to strengthen marriages. The $200-million, which Congress has not yet approved, is part of the White House's welfare reform package. States would compete for the grants and provide matching money.

Gov. Bush's efforts to support marriage are applauded by the Christian Coalition of Florida.

"There are times when the family is in a stressful situation, and they think the only way out is divorce," said Carolyn Kunkle, the Christian Coalition's development director. "Well, our grandparents were married for 75 or 80 years. They went through some stressful times, yet they were able to keep their families together."

Kunkle said the Christian Coalition wanted state lawmakers to make "minor adjustments" to the state's no-fault divorce law, which allows couples to divorce without having to prove adultery or abuse.

One proposed change, she said, would be for the state to require a one-year waiting period before a no-fault divorce could be granted. During that time, the couple would have to go to counseling. The one-year wait period wouldn't apply in cases where there's abuse, Kunkle said.

But the governor and top leaders in the Florida Legislature say they don't want to change the no-fault divorce law.

In Florida and Washington, those pushing for the new marriage programs say the decline of the traditional two-parent family is causing social ills. Jerry Regier, head of Florida's Department of Children and Families, shaped an initiative to strengthen marriages in Oklahoma.

Details are sketchy about the new Building Florida's Families initiative, but it might include provisions such as giving people who complete parenting classes a bigger homestead exemption on property taxes, making parenting classes available in housing projects, and giving corporations tax breaks for holding parenting classes where people work, said Sara Herald, one of Bush's appointees on his transition advisory panel.

Howard Simon, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Florida, said policy makers need to consider the U.S. Constitution's provisions for separation of church and state.

"What the government can't do is fund sectarian marriage counseling programs," Simon said."Is he (Gov. Bush) prepared to fund a faith-based program that prescribes Bible study to couples? There's a line that I think government policy makers need to be very mindful of, and that line is our Constitution."

Four years ago, the state passed a law giving couples a $32.50 discount on their marriage license if they take a marriage preparation course. State officials said Thursday that they didn't know how many couples chose to get counseling and the discount.

-- Times staff writer Alisa Ulferts contributed to this report.

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