(1) The county clerk has the following duties as to marriages: To endorse on or append to the marriage license the form of the return; and
(2) To register, in a well-bound book, the names of the parties, and the date of the issuance of a marriage license, and to copy immediately, under or opposite thereto, the return of the proper functionary who solemnized the rites of matrimony, with the date thereof, and file and retain the license and return thereof in such clerk's office or other suitable facility.
(3) The records described in subdivision (a)(2) are public records.
(4) As used in this section, “suitable facility” means a facility that stores local government records securely against theft and natural disasters.