Bill Text: NY S05979 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended


Bill Title: Changes the time period for extrajudicial consent and lengthens the time period for payments to a birth mother prior to giving birth and expands the types of unlawful denials of prospective applicants in adoption proceedings; repeals provisions relating to an individual's religious faith when determining placement.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-03-10 - PRINT NUMBER 5979B [S05979 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S05979-Amended.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         5979--B

                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                      May 16, 2019
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  MAYER  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and  Families  --
          recommitted  to  the  Committee on Children and Families in accordance
          with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8  --  committee  discharged,  bill  amended,
          ordered  reprinted  as  amended  and  recommitted to said committee --
          committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as  amended  and
          recommitted to said committee

        AN  ACT to amend the domestic relations law and the social services law,
          in relation to certain time  periods  and  prospective  applicants  in
          adoption  proceedings;  and  to repeal subdivision 3 of section 373 of
          the social services law relating to adoption proceedings and an  indi-
          vidual's religious faith

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. The opening paragraph and the  seventh  undesignated  para-
     2  graph  of  section  110 of the domestic relations law, the opening para-
     3  graph as amended by chapter 509 of the laws  of  2010  and  the  seventh
     4  undesignated  paragraph as added by chapter 522 of the laws of 1999, are
     5  amended to read as follows:
     6    An adult unmarried person, an adult married couple  together,  or  any
     7  two unmarried adult intimate partners together may adopt another person.
     8  An adult married person who is living separate and apart from his or her
     9  spouse  pursuant  to a decree or judgment of separation or pursuant to a
    10  written agreement of separation subscribed by the  parties  thereto  and
    11  acknowledged  or  proved  in  the  form required to entitle a deed to be
    12  recorded or an adult married person who has  been  living  separate  and
    13  apart  from his or her spouse for at least three years prior to commenc-
    14  ing an adoption proceeding may adopt another person; provided,  however,
    15  that  the  person so adopted shall not be deemed the child or step-child
    16  of the non-adopting spouse for the purposes of  inheritance  or  support
    17  rights  or  obligations  or  for  any  other purposes. An adult or minor

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11716-05-0

        S. 5979--B                          2

     1  married couple together may adopt a child of either of them born  in  or
     2  out  of  wedlock  and an adult or minor spouse may adopt such a child of
     3  the other spouse.  No  person  shall  hereafter  be  adopted  except  in
     4  pursuance of this article[, and in conformity with section three hundred
     5  seventy-three of the social services law].
     6    It  shall  be  unlawful  to  preclude a prospective adoptive parent or
     7  parents [solely] on the basis  of  age,  race,  creed,  color,  national
     8  origin,  sexual  orientation,  gender  identity  or expression, military
     9  status, sex, disability, predisposing genetic characteristics,  familial
    10  status,  marital status, or domestic violence victim status, or that the
    11  adoptor or adopters has had, or has cancer, or any other disease.  Noth-
    12  ing  herein shall prevent the rejection of a prospective applicant based
    13  upon his or her poor health or limited life expectancy.
    14    § 2. Subdivisions 3 and 4 and paragraph (a) and the opening  paragraph
    15  of  paragraph  (b)  of  subdivision  6  of section 115-b of the domestic
    16  relations law, subdivision 3 and the opening paragraph of paragraph  (b)
    17  of subdivision 6 as amended and subdivision 4 as added by chapter 817 of
    18  the  laws  of 1986, paragraph (c) of subdivision 4 as amended by chapter
    19  680 of the laws of 2007, paragraph (d) of subdivision 4 as relettered by
    20  chapter 371 of the laws of 1994, and paragraph (a) of subdivision  6  as
    21  amended  by  chapter  557  of  the  laws of 1988, are amended to read as
    22  follows:
    23    3. Extrajudicial consents. (a) Whenever a consent is not  executed  or
    24  acknowledged  before a judge or surrogate pursuant to subdivision two of
    25  this section such consent shall become irrevocable [forty-five] ten days
    26  after the execution of the consent unless written notice  of  revocation
    27  thereof  is received by the court in which the adoption proceeding is to
    28  be commenced within said [forty-five] ten days.
    29    (b) Notwithstanding that such written notice is received  within  said
    30  [forty-five]  ten  days,  the notice of revocation shall be given effect
    31  only if the adoptive parents fail to oppose such revocation, as provided
    32  in subdivision six of this section, or, if they oppose  such  revocation
    33  and  the court as provided in subdivision six of this section has deter-
    34  mined that the best interests of the child  will  be  served  by  giving
    35  force and effect to such revocation.
    36    4.  (a)  In  any  case where a consent is not executed or acknowledged
    37  before a judge or surrogate pursuant to subdivision two of this section,
    38  the consent shall state, in conspicuous print of at least eighteen point
    39  type:
    40    (i) the name and address of the court in which the adoption proceeding
    41  has been or is to be commenced; and
    42    (ii) that the consent may be revoked within [forty-five] ten  days  of
    43  the execution of the document and where the consent is not revoked with-
    44  in  said  [forty-five]  ten  days no proceeding may be maintained by the
    45  parent for the return of the custody of the child; and
    46    (iii) that such revocation must be in  writing  and  received  by  the
    47  court  where  the  adoption proceeding is to be commenced within [forty-
    48  five] ten days of the execution of said consent; and
    49    (iv) that, if the adoptive  parents  contest  the  revocation,  timely
    50  notice  of  the  revocation will not necessarily result in the return of
    51  the child to the parent's custody, and that the rights of the parent  to
    52  custody  of  the  child  shall  not be superior to those of the adoptive
    53  parents but that a hearing will be required before a judge  pursuant  to
    54  the  provisions  of this section to determine: (1) whether the notice of
    55  revocation was timely and properly given; and if necessary, (2)  whether
    56  the best interests of the child will be served by: (A) returning custody

        S. 5979--B                          3

     1  of the child to the parent; or (B) by continuing the adoption proceeding
     2  commenced  by  the  adoptive  parents;  or (C) by disposition other than
     3  adoption by the adoptive parents; or (D) by placement of the child  with
     4  an  authorized  agency, and if any such determination is made, the court
     5  shall make such disposition of the custody of the  child  as  will  best
     6  serve the interests of the child; and
     7    (v)  that  the  parent  has  the  right to legal representation of the
     8  parent's own choosing; the right to obtain supportive counseling and may
     9  have the right to have the court appoint an attorney pursuant to section
    10  two hundred sixty-two of the family  court  act,  section  four  hundred
    11  seven  of the surrogate's court procedure act, or section thirty-five of
    12  the judiciary law.
    13    (b) Such consent shall be executed or  acknowledged  before  a  notary
    14  public or other officer authorized to take proof of deeds.
    15    (c)  A  copy  of  such  consent shall be given to such parent upon the
    16  execution thereof. The consent shall include  the  following  statement:
    17  "I,  (name  of  consenting  parent), this ____ day of __________, _____,
    18  have received a copy of this consent. (Signature of consenting parent)".
    19  Such consenting parent shall so acknowledge the delivery and the date of
    20  the delivery in writing on the consent.
    21    (d) The adoptive parent may commence  the  adoption  proceeding  in  a
    22  court  of  competent  jurisdiction  other  than  the  court named in the
    23  consent provided that such commencement is initiated more  than  [forty-
    24  five]  ten  days  after the consent is executed. Such commencement shall
    25  not revive, extend or toll the period for revocation of a consent pursu-
    26  ant to this section.
    27    (a) A parent may revoke his consent to adoption only by giving notice,
    28  in writing, of such revocation, no  later  than  [forty-five]  ten  days
    29  after  the execution of the consent, or twenty days after the receipt of
    30  a notice of denial, withdrawal or removal pursuant to paragraph  (a)  of
    31  subdivision  four of section seventeen hundred twenty-five of the surro-
    32  gate's court procedure act, whichever is later, to the  court  in  which
    33  the  adoption  proceeding  has  been  or is to be commenced. Such notice
    34  shall set forth the name and address of the court in which the  adoption
    35  proceeding  is  to  be  commenced, the address of the parent and may, in
    36  addition, set forth the name and address of the attorney for the parent.
    37    If, within [forty-five] ten days of the execution of the consent,  the
    38  court  has  received such notice of revocation, the court shall promptly
    39  notify the adoptive parents and their attorney, by  certified  mail,  of
    40  the receipt by the court of such notice of revocation.
    41    §  3.  Subdivision  3  of  section  373  of the social services law is
    42  REPEALED and subdivisions 4, 5, 6 and 7 are renumbered  subdivisions  3,
    43  4, 5 and 6.
    44    §  4.  Subdivision  6  of  section  374 of the social services law, as
    45  amended by chapter 305 of the laws  of  2008,  is  amended  to  read  as
    46  follows:
    47    6.  An  authorized  agency,  as  defined  in paragraphs (a) and (c) of
    48  subdivision ten of section three hundred seventy-one of this title,  may
    49  charge  or  accept  a  fee  or other compensation to or from a person or
    50  persons with whom it has placed out a  child,  for  the  reasonable  and
    51  necessary expenses of such placement; and no agency, association, corpo-
    52  ration,  institution, society or organization, except such an authorized
    53  agency, and no person may  or  shall  request,  accept  or  receive  any
    54  compensation  or  thing  of value, directly or indirectly, in connection
    55  with the placing out or adoption of a child or  for  assisting  a  birth
    56  parent,  relative  or guardian of a child in arranging for the placement

        S. 5979--B                          4

     1  of the child for the purpose of adoption; and no person may or shall pay
     2  or give to any person or to any agency, association, corporation, insti-
     3  tution, society or organization, except such an authorized  agency,  any
     4  compensation  or  thing  of  value in connection with the placing out or
     5  adoption of a child or for assisting a birth parent, relative or guardi-
     6  an of a child in arranging for  the  placement  of  the  child  for  the
     7  purpose  of  adoption. The prohibition set forth in this section applies
     8  to any adoptive placement activity involving a child born  in  New  York
     9  state  or brought into this state or involving a New York resident seek-
    10  ing to bring a child into New York state for the purpose of adoption.
    11    This subdivision shall not be construed  to  prevent  the  payment  of
    12  salaries  or  other compensation by an authorized agency to the officers
    13  or employees thereof; nor shall it be construed to prevent  the  payment
    14  by  a  person  with  whom  a child has been placed out of reasonable and
    15  actual medical  fees  or  hospital  charges  for  services  rendered  in
    16  connection  with  the birth of such child or of other necessary expenses
    17  incurred by the birth mother in connection with or as a  result  of  her
    18  pregnancy  or  the birth of the child, or of reasonable and actual nurs-
    19  ing, medical or hospital fees for  the  care  of  such  child,  if  such
    20  payment  is  made  to  the  physician,  nurse  or  hospital who or which
    21  rendered the services or to the birth mother of the child, or to prevent
    22  the receipt of such payment by such physician, nurse, hospital or  birth
    23  mother.  This  subdivision shall not be construed to prevent the payment
    24  by an adoptive parent, as defined in section one  hundred  nine  of  the
    25  domestic  relations  law,  of  the  birth mother's reasonable and actual
    26  expenses for housing, maternity clothing, clothing  for  the  child  and
    27  transportation for a reasonable period not to exceed [sixty] one hundred
    28  eighty  days  prior  to the birth and the later of thirty days after the
    29  birth or thirty days after the parental consent to the adoption,  unless
    30  a  court  determines,  in  writing, that exceptional circumstances exist
    31  which require the payment of the birth mother's expenses beyond the time
    32  periods stated in  this  sentence;  provided,  however,  that  any  such
    33  payments made to the birth mother shall not exceed ten thousand dollars.
    34  This  subdivision  shall  not  be construed to prevent the payment by an
    35  adoptive parent, as defined in section one hundred nine of the  domestic
    36  relations law, of reasonable and actual legal fees charged for consulta-
    37  tion  and  legal  advice,  preparation  of papers and representation and
    38  other legal services rendered in connection with an adoption  proceeding
    39  or of necessary disbursements incurred for or in an adoption proceeding.
    40  No  attorney or law firm shall serve as the attorney for, or provide any
    41  legal services to both the birth parent and adoptive parent in regard to
    42  the placing out of a child for adoption or in an adoption proceeding. No
    43  attorney or law firm shall serve as the attorney  for,  or  provide  any
    44  legal services to, both an authorized agency and adoptive parent or both
    45  an  authorized  agency  and  birth  parent  where  the authorized agency
    46  provides adoption services to such  birth  parent  or  adoptive  parent,
    47  where the authorized agency provides foster care for the child, or where
    48  the  authorized agency is directly or indirectly involved in the placing
    49  out of such child for adoption.
    50    § 5. Paragraphs (e), (f) and (g) of subdivision 4 of  section  382  of
    51  the  social  services  law, paragraphs (e) and (f) as amended by chapter
    52  945 of the laws of 1971 and paragraph (g) as amended by chapter  555  of
    53  the laws of 1978, are amended to read as follows:
    54    (e)  [will comply with section three hundred seventy-three;

        S. 5979--B                          5

     1    (f)]  will  supervise the care and training of such child and cause it
     2  to be visited at least annually by a responsible agent of the  licensee;
     3  and
     4    [(g)]  (f) will make to the department such reports as it from time to
     5  time may require.
     6    § 6. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day  after  it  shall
     7  have become a law.
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