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H0776.....................................................by WAYS AND MEANS
INTERNATIONAL ADOPTIONS - Amends existing law to provide a judicial
procedure for the adoption of foreign born children recognizing permission
by the United States Department of State or the United States Department of
Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service for the child to enter the
United States for humanitarian reasons relating to adoption by citizens of
the United States.
02/25 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/26 Rpt prt - to St Aff
03/02 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
03/03 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/06 3rd rdg - PASSED - 65-0-5
AYES -- Alltus, Barraclough, Barrett, Bell, Bieter, Bivens,
Black(15), Black(23), Boe, Bruneel, Callister, Campbell, Chase,
Crane, Crow, Deal, Denney, Ellsworth, Field(13), Field(20), Gagner,
Geddes, Gould, Hadley, Henbest, Hornbeck, Jaquet, Jones(9),
Jones(22), Judd, Kellogg, Kempton, Kendell, Kjellander, Kunz, Lake,
Linford, Loertscher, Mader, Marley, McKague, Meyer, Miller,
Mortensen, Newcomb, Pischner, Pomeroy, Reynolds, Richman, Ridinger,
Robison, Sali, Stevenson, Stoicheff, Stone, Stubbs, Taylor, Tilman,
Tippets, Trail, Watson, Wheeler, Wood, Zimmermann, Mr Speaker
NAYS -- None
Absent and excused -- Clark, Cuddy, Hansen, Jones(20), Schaefer
Floor Sponsor - Simpson
Title apvd - to Senate
03/09 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to St Aff
03/17 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
03/18 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/19 3rd rdg - PASSED - 35-0-0
AYES -- Andreason, Boatright, Branch, Bunderson, Burtenshaw, Cameron,
Crow, Danielson, Darrington, Diede, Dunklin, Frasure, Geddes, Hansen,
Hawkins, Ingram, Ipsen, Keough, King, Lee, McLaughlin, Noh, Parry,
Richardson, Riggs, Risch, Sandy, Schroeder, Sorensen, Stennett,
Sweeney, Thorne, Twiggs, Wheeler, Whitworth
NAYS -- None
Absent and excused -- None
Floor Sponsor - Ipsen
Title apvd - to House
03/20 To enrol - rpt enrol - Sp signed
03/20 Pres signed - to Governor
03/24 Governor signed
Session Law Chapter 313
Effective: 03/24/98
H0776|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO |||| Fifty-fourth Legislature Second Regular Session - 1998IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE BILL NO. 776 BY WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION; AMENDING SECTION 16-1514, IDAHO CODE, TO 3 RECOGNIZE THAT IF A CHILD HAS BEEN ADMITTED INTO THE UNITED STATES FOR 4 HUMANITARIAN REASONS RELATING TO ADOPTION IN THE UNITED STATES, THAT FACT 5 MAY BE INCLUDED IN THE ADOPTION PETITION, AND TO PROVIDE APPLICATION OF 6 THE STATUTE TO A CHILD ENTERING THE UNITED STATES FOR HUMANITARIAN REASONS 7 RELATING TO ADOPTION BY UNITED STATES CITIZENS; AND DECLARING AN EMER- 8 GENCY. 9 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 10 SECTION 1. That Section 16-1514, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 11 amended to read as follows: 12 16-1514. INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION. (1) Proceedings to adopt a foreign born 13 child who has been allowed to enter the United States for the purpose of adop- 14 tion shall be commenced by the filing of a petition under this section. Simi- 15 larly, United States citizen parents who have adopted a child in a foreign 16 country may commence proceedings to have the foreign adoption recognized and 17 granted judicial comity by the filing of a petition under this section. A 18 petition under this section shall be initiated by the person or persons pro- 19 posing to adopt the child and shall be filed with the district court of the 20 judicial district in which said person or persons reside. The petitioner shall 21 have resided and maintained a dwelling within the state of Idaho for at least 22 six (6) consecutive months prior to the filing of a petition. The petition 23 shall set forth the following: 24 (a) The name and address of the petitioner or petitioners; 25 (b) The name of the child proposed to be adopted and the name by which he 26 or she shall be known when adopted; 27 (c) The degree of relationship of the child, if any, to the petitioner or 28 petitioners; 29 (d) The child's country of origin, and date of birth, if known; 30 (e) That the child has been issued a visa or other document authorizing 31 entry into the United States as an immigrant or for the purpose of adop- 32 tion or for humanitarian reasons relating to adoption in the 33 United States and the date of the person's entry into the United States; 34 (f) That a home study of the petitioner or petitioners was prepared and 35 the name of the person or agency performing the home study. A copy of the 36 home study shall be attached to the petition; 37 (g) That, to the information and belief of the petitioners, the biologi- 38 cal parents of the child to be adopted are residents of another country; 39 (h) That the adoption of such child is in the child's best interests. 40 (2) At the time fixed for the hearing on a petition for adoption under 41 this section, the person or persons adopting the child and the child to be 42 adopted must appear before the court where the petition was filed. The judge 43 shall examine the petitioner or petitioners at the hearing and, if satisfied 2 1 that the proposed adoption is in the best interests of the child to be 2 adopted, shall enter a decree of adoption. The petitioner or petitioners shall 3 at such time execute an agreement to the effect that the child shall be 4 adopted and treated in all respects as the petitioner's own lawful child. 5 (3) This section governs the adoption of all foreign born children who 6 have entered the United States to be adopted or who have entered the United 7 States as immigrants after having been adopted in a foreign country by United 8 States citizens. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, no con- 9 sent shall be required from the biological parents of the child to be adopted 10 if the child has been granted permission by the United States department of 11 state or United States department of justice, immigration and naturalization 12 service to enter the United States for the purpose of adoption , or for 13 humanitarian reasons relating to adoption by United States citizens, or 14 as an immigrant after having been adopted in a foreign country by United 15 States citizens. A visa or other document from the United States department of 16 state or United States department of justice, immigration and naturalization 17 service authorizing entry into the United States for the purpose of 18 adoption , or for humanitarian reasons relating to adoption by United 19 States citizens, or as an immigrant due to adoption in a foreign coun- 20 try byaUnited States citizen s , shall be deemed 21 conclusive evidence of the termination of the parental rights of the biologi- 22 cal parents and compliance with the laws of the country of the child's birth. 23 The provisions of chapter 20, title 16, Idaho Code, shall not apply to 24 adoptions under this section. 25 (4) The decisions and orders of foreign courts and government agencies, 26 authorized to approve adoptions, shall be accorded judicial comity or the same 27 full faith and credit accorded a judgment of a sister state without additional 28 proceedings or documentation, provided the United States department of state 29 or United States department of justice, immigration and naturalization service 30 has allowed the child to enter the United States as set forth in subsection 31 (3) of this section. 32 SECTION 2. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby 33 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after its 34 passage and approval.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS08140
This proposes a change in Idaho law related to international
adoptions to provide that entry of a child into the United States
for humanitarian reasons relating to adoption by United States
citizens shall be considered by Idaho's courts as evidence of
termination of parental rights of the biological parents and
compliance with the laws of the country of the child's birth.
This amendment is needed in cases where children to be
adopted are allowed entry into the United States for humanitarian
reasons due to problems such as civil unrest or revolution in the
child's country of birth which have placed the child at risk and
the courts of that country are not functioning, therefore cannot
complete the adoption or termination of parental rights in that
country. With passage of this bill, international adoption
proceedings in such cases will be simplified and the child will
be protected.
FISCAL NOTE
This bill will have no fiscal impact.
CONTACT: J.D. Williams
334-3100
Speaker Mike Simpson
332-1111
Bill No. H 776