Senate Majority Leader Bill Cowsert (R – Athens) released the following statement on House Bill 159:
“The Senate passed its first bill of the session today – a comprehensive update of the state’s adoption law. The bill, House Bill 159, passed the House of Representatives on the 28th day of last year’s session after more than two years of development under the guidance of Rep. Bert Reeves (R-Marietta).
The Senate received it with 12 legislative days left in the 2017 session and did not have time to fully vet the bill in time to bring it to the floor for a vote before the end of the session. Additional time over the summer has allowed the Senate to thoroughly review and vet the bill, and to make a few much-needed changes. Thorough review by both legislative chambers is the most prudent method of producing solid law – it also happens to be the constitutionally mandated means of governing. The bill now stands as a testament to Georgia’s goal of helping mothers choose life and of simplifying the adoption process.
There are relatively few differences between the House version of the adoption bill and the Senate version, but they are significant. Under the leadership of Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Jesse Stone (R-Waynesboro) a portion of the bill that could have had catastrophic results was rewritten.
Currently, medical expenses for prenatal care, hospital expenses, and living expenses for a birth mother in the adoption process can be paid only by a state-regulated adoption agency. There is a requirement that the agency submit a financial disclosure with the court listing all expenditures paid to or on behalf of the mother. These expenses must be approved by the judge handling the adoption to assure that they do not constitute an illegal inducement. Likewise, the adoption agencies are audited yearly to ensure the expenses are necessary and reasonable.
The Senate version of the adoption bill does not allow for living expenses to be paid in a private adoption where no agency is involved. However, it does allow for medical expenses and counseling expenses to be paid in private adoptions. The House version of the bill would have allowed for private adoptive parents to pay living expenses of the mother. Because private attorneys do not face the same restrictions and regulations as adoption agencies, the lawyers could facilitate payments of higher expenses for birth mothers than state-regulated adoption agencies can pay. This has the potential to lead to mothers negotiating for the highest bidder seeking to adopt.
The Senate version is more consistent with current Georgia law (Georgia Code 19-8-24) which makes it a felony to offer an illegal inducement to parents to part with their children. There should be very limited exceptions to this rule. Although the Senate wants to make the adoption process easier for families, it will not simplify the process in a way that promotes the possibility of bidding for babies. This is, obviously, contrary to the best interests of Georgians.
Another section of the bill would have allowed unmarried 21 year olds to adopt. Some advocates suggested this was to ensure older siblings of minors could adopt their younger siblings in cases where that is unfortunately necessary. The Senate version allows for family members who are 21 years old to adopt siblings; it does not permit single individuals under age 25 to adopt. On the other hand, it is permissible for married couples under age 25 to adopt.
In current Georgia law, a birth mother has up to 10 days after giving birth to change her mind about the adoption and keep her child. The House version of the bill allows the birth mother to waive this 10-day period, signing away all rights to her child immediately after giving birth. To protect birth mothers’ rights, the Senate version imposes a 72-hour waiting period before a birth mother can waive the 10-day waiting period.
At the end of the 2017 session, disagreements arose over a Senate provision that would have prevented the government from forcing religious adoption agencies to place children in homes contrary to the agencies’ firmly held religious beliefs. Because of resistance in the House, the Senate sponsors of this amendment have agreed to remove this language and introduce it as a separate bill where it can be vetted on its own.
Finally, some have criticized the addition of a bill that the Governor previously vetoed will make it difficult to pass HB 159. The vetoed bill in question, HB359, was passed by both the House and Senate in 2017. It states that a parent can allow a member of the community (such as a close friend or fellow church member) power-of-attorney over a child on a temporary basis, up to one year, if the parent is temporarily unable take care of the child. In circumstances such as a single-parent soldier being deployed overseas, financial distress, physical injury or disability, or a parent who voluntarily enters an alcohol or drug rehab program, this provision will help keep families together in the long term. Current state law would have the parent place the child in the state’s custody.
In the governor’s veto message, he stated that he was concerned about state oversight of the person with power of attorney. The Senate noted that the Division of Family and Children Services will always retain the right and ability to remove a child from an incompetent or neglectful parent or custodian of a child. We are optimistic that the changes in this bill will alleviate the Governor’s concerns and that he will sign this version.
As the Governor expressed in his HB359 veto message: “I believe a comprehensive foster care/adoption reform legislative package is in Georgia’s best interests in 2018.”
The Georgia Senate agrees and believes HB159 accomplishes that goal.”
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