Oklahoma 2024 Regular Session

Oklahoma Senate Bill SB187 Compare Versions

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Version 2 (New)

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3		-	ENGR. S. B. NO. 187 Page 1 1
	3	+	SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB187 SFLR Page 1
	4	+	(Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1
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28		-	ENGROSSED SENATE
29		-	BILL NO. 187 By: Burns, Garvin, Bergstrom,
30		-	and Jett of the Senate
	29	+	SENATE FLOOR VERSION
	30	+	February 21, 2023
	31	+	AS AMENDED
	32	+
	33	+	SENATE BILL NO. 187 By: Burns, Garvin, and
	34	+	Bergstrom of the Senate
31	35
32	36		and
33	37
34	38		Crosswhite Hader of the
35	39		House
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	43	+	[ adoption expenses - effective date ]
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40		-	An Act relating to adoption expenses; amending 10
41		-	O.S. 2021, Section 7505 -3.2, which relates to costs
42		-	expended by adoptive family; increasing allowable
43		-	amount for certain expenses; updating statutory
44		-	reference; and providing an effective date .
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48	49		BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
49	50		SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 10 O.S. 2021, Section 7505 -3.2, is
50	51		amended to read as follows:
51	52		Section 7505-3.2. A. 1. An affidavit shall be attached to the
52	53		petition for adoption, or may be filed after the filing of the
53	54		petition for adoption, but prior to the final decree of adoption,
54	55		which discloses to the court all of the costs, funds, or monies
55	56		expended by the adoptive family or expected to be expended in
56	57		connection with the adoption of a minor.
57	58		2. No final decree of adoption shall be entered until the court
58	59		is satisfied that all costs and expenses have been disclosed, are
59	60		reasonable, and that the costs and expenses do not violate the
60	61		provisions of subsection B of this section. Upon its review of the
61	62		affidavit of monies expended, the court shall in writing disapprove
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63		-	ENGR. S. B. NO. 187 Page 2 1
	64	+	SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB187 SFLR Page 2
	65	+	(Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1
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88	90		any expenditure that the court deems unreasonable or in violation of
89	91		Sections 865 through 870 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Stat utes and,
90	92		to the extent necessary to comply with Oklahoma law, shall order
91	93		reimbursement of any consideration given in violation of Sections
92	94		865 through 870 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes. Payments made
93	95		pursuant to this section shall not be a violat ion of Sections 865
94	96		through 870 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes. Cou rt approval of
95	97		the affidavit of monies expended shall not exempt a person, attorney
96	98		or licensed child-placing agency from prosecution if the information
97	99		provided to the court is frau dulent or false.
98	100		B. 1. Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, the
99	101		following list of adoption-related costs and expenses specified in
100	102		this paragraph may be deemed proper items for a person to pay in
101	103		connection with an adoption:
102	104		a. reasonable attorney fees and court costs,
103	105		b. reasonable medical expenses for birth moth er and minor
104	106		to be adopted,
105	107		c. reasonable adoption counsel ing expenses for birth
106	108		parents before and after the birth of the minor, not
107	109		to exceed six (6) months from placement of the m inor,
108	110		d. reasonable fees of a licensed child -placing agency,
109	111		including social services staff fees provided by
110	112		agency employees that include:
111	113		(1) casework services,
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113		-	ENGR. S. B. NO. 187 Page 3 1
	115	+	SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB187 SFLR Page 3
	116	+	(Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1
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138	141		(2) adoptive child and family studies,
139	142		(3) placement services,
140	143		(4) certification of agency facilities,
141	144		(5) admission assessments, and
142	145		(6) service planning,
143	146		e. (1) reasonable and necessary living expenses of the
144	147		birth mother that are incurred during the
145	148		adoption planning process or during the
146	149		pregnancy, not to exceed two (2) months after the
147	150		birth of the minor or after the consent or
148	151		relinquishment of the birth mother. Reasonable
149	152		and necessary living expenses include but are not
150	153		limited to:
151	154		(a) housing expenses,
152	155		(b) utilities, such as electric, gas, water, or
153	156		telephone bills,
154	157		(c) food for the birth mother and any minor
155	158		child of the birth mother residing in the
156	159		home of the birth mother,
157	160		(d) travel expenses for transportation to
158	161		support the pregnancy, such as gasoline, bus
159	162		fares, or providing for the temporary use of
160	163		a vehicle during the pregnancy, and
161	164
162		-	ENGR. S. B. NO. 187 Page 4 1
	165	+	SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB187 SFLR Page 4
	166	+	(Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1
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187	191		(e) child care or foster care for any minor
188	192		child of the birth mother a ssociated with
189	193		pregnancy-related medical care.
190	194		(2) Reasonable and necessary living expenses shall
191	195		not include:
192	196		(a) any expenses met by existing resources of
193	197		the birth mother,
194	198		(b) any expenses used for the support of family
195	199		members who are not minor childre n of the
196	200		mother,
197	201		(c) any expenses for recreational or leis ure
198	202		activities, and
199	203		(d) the purchase or gift of an automobile,
200	204		f. reasonable expenses for a home study,
201	205		g. reasonable and necessary costs associated with an
202	206		international adoption,
203	207		h. reasonable expenses legally required by any
204	208		governmental entity related to the adoption of a
205	209		minor, and
206	210		i. a one-time gift to the birth mother from the
207	211		prospective adoptive parents of no greater value than
208	212		One Hundred Dollars ($100.00).
209	213		2. In addition, all expenses app roved by the court should be
210	214		commensurate with other custo mary fees for similar services by
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212		-	ENGR. S. B. NO. 187 Page 5 1
	216	+	SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB187 SFLR Page 5
	217	+	(Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1
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237	242		persons of equivalent experience and training where the services are
238	243		performed. Any serv ices provided outside this state shall be
239	244		allowed in an amount as if the se rvices had been performed within
240	245		the State of Oklahoma.
241	246		3. The provisions of this subsection shall apply to living and
242	247		transportation expenses incurred after the biological mother of the
243	248		minor contacts the child -placing agency or attorney for adoption
244	249		services.
245	250		4. The provisions of this subsection shall not pro hibit a court
246	251		from extending any time period, or including any additional costs
247	252		and expenses in connection with an adoption other than those
248	253		specified in this subsection based on unusual circumstanc es or need.
249	254		If additional costs and expenses in connectio n with an adoption are
250	255		approved by the court, the court shall specify in writing the
251	256		unusual circumstances that justify the approval.
252	257		5. Except as otherwise ordered by the court except for good
253	258		cause shown, all payments made pursuant to this section shall be
254	259		paid directly to the third -party provider of services or goods. Any
255	260		living expense paid on behalf of a birth mother in a domestic
256	261		adoption which is not supported by an itemized receipt shall no t be
257	262		allowed for payment. If gift cards are issued to pay expenses, an
258	263		itemized receipt verifying purchases shall be required for approval
259	264		by the court. The accounting shall inclu de vouchers for all monies
260	265
261		-	ENGR. S. B. NO. 187 Page 6 1
	266	+	SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB187 SFLR Page 6
	267	+	(Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1
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286	292		expended, copies of all checks written and recei pts for all cash
287	293		payments attesting to the accuracy of the accounting.
288	294		6. No person, attorney or licensed child -placing agency shall
289	295		have a financial interest in a third -party provider of services or
290	296		goods, without disclosing in an affidavit the financial interest to
291	297		the court and the other parties to the adopti on.
292	298		C. Any person, attorney, or licensed child -placing agency
293	299		desiring to pay living and transportation expenses on behalf of a
294	300		birth mother is authorized to expend an initial amount not to exceed
295	301		One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) Three Thousand Five Hund red Dollars
296	302		($3,500.00) plus deposits for housing a nd utilities for such costs
297	303		and expenses without first obtaining court ap proval as required by
298	304		paragraph 1 of subsection D of this section. Any suc h costs and
299	305		expenses shall be disclosed as is otherwise re quired by the Oklahoma
300	306		Adoption Code.
301	307		D. 1. Except for the amount authorized by subsection C of this
302	308		section, the payment of any living or transportation expenses for
303	309		benefit of the birth mother a s authorized in subparagraph e of
304	310		paragraph 1 of subsectio n B of this section shall be approved in
305	311		advance by the court.
306	312		2. The person, attorney, or licensed child -placing agency
307	313		desiring to pay living or transportation expenses on behalf of a
308	314		birth mother which exceed the amount in subsection C of this section
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310		-	ENGR. S. B. NO. 187 Page 7 1
	316	+	SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB187 SFLR Page 7
	317	+	(Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1
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335	342		shall file a petition for an order approving payme nt of adoption-
336	343		related expenses.
337	344		3. The petition for an order approving payment of adoption-
338	345		related expenses shall be filed in the district court w here the
339	346		adoption petition is to be filed, as provided in Section 7502-1.2 of
340	347		this title.
341	348		4. The petition shall be captioned: “In the matter of Baby
342	349		(name).” The petition shall in clude a listing of all anticipated
343	350		living or transportation expenses to be paid on behalf of the birth
344	351		mother for which court approva l is being sought. If additional
345	352		expenditures not previously authorized by the court are needed on
346	353		behalf of the birth mot her, an amended petition may be filed with
347	354		the court.
348	355		5. The petition shal l be heard by the court within ten (10)
349	356		days of filing. The court clerk shall charge the same cost for a
350	357		petition for payment of expenses as is charged for the filing of an
351	358		adoption petition. In the event an adoption petition is later filed
352	359		in the same county, the adoption petition shall be filed as an
353	360		amended petition within the same case in which payment for expenses
354	361		was approved and no additional court costs shall be required. In
355	362		the event a petition for preadoption termination of parental rights
356	363		is later filed in the same county, the court clerk shall not a ssess
357	364		an additional filing fee and may use the sam e case number as for the
358	365		petition for adoption.
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360		-	ENGR. S. B. NO. 187 Page 8 1
	367	+	SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB187 SFLR Page 8
	368	+	(Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1
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385	393		6. Any order authorizing payment shall be attached to a
386	394		petition for adoption. If no adoption peti tion is filed, the court
387	395		shall retain jurisdiction to ente r any orders deemed appropriate
388	396		regarding the reimbursement of costs and expenses paid. If the
389	397		child is placed for adoptio n outside the State of Oklahoma, any such
390	398		order shall be submitted to the I nterstate Compact of the Placement
391	399		of Children and to the court in the other state where the petition
392	400		for adoption is to be filed.
393	401		E. 1. In addition to the adoptive family affidav it requirement
394	402		of subsection A of this section, a Disclosure Statement of A doption-
395	403		related Costs and Expenditures shall be prepared i n writing by the
396	404		person, attorney or child -placing agency in a direct-placement
397	405		adoption. The Disclosure Statement of Adop tion-related Costs and
398	406		Expenditures shall include a declaration of all fees , expenses, and
399	407		costs charged or expected to be charged fo r the adoption including,
400	408		but not limited to, the following:
401	409		a. retainer fees, the hourly rate, and the number of
402	410		hours billed for the adoption,
403	411		b. any fee charged for preplacement or other home stu dies
404	412		of any prospective birth parents, regardless of
405	413		whether the home study was performed by an outside
406	414		agency,
407	415		c. any costs, fees or expenses or any other thing of
408	416		value paid to or on behalf of the birth parents
409	417
410		-	ENGR. S. B. NO. 187 Page 9 1
	418	+	SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB187 SFLR Page 9
	419	+	(Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1
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435	444		related to the adoption of a minor by any p arty other
436	445		than the adoptive parents, and
437	446		d. any other fees and expenses related to the adoption
438	447		not otherwise specifically listed in this section.
439	448		2. The Disclosure Statement of A doption-related Costs and
440	449		Expenditures containing true and accurate informa tion shall be filed
441	450		before or when the final decree of ado ption is ordered in each
442	451		adoption of a minor in th is state. A statutory Disclosure Statement
443	452		of Adoption-related Costs and Expenditures is provided in Section 2
444	453		7505-3.3 of this act title. A copy of the statement shall be a
445	454		public record to be compiled a nd maintained by the court clerk and
446	455		available for public inspect ion; provided, that any information
447	456		identifying the person , attorney or child-placing agency in the
448	457		direct adoption shall be redacted from the document prior to filing
449	458		with the court clerk an d shall not be made public. In addition, the
450	459		identity of the child, the adoptive parents, and the birth parents
451	460		shall be redacted from the document prior to filing with the court
452	461		clerk and shall not be made public.
453	462		SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023.
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455		-	ENGR. S. B. NO. 187 Page 10 1
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480		-	Passed the Senate the 7th day of March, 2023.
481		-
482		-
483		-
484		-	Presiding Officer of the Senate
485		-
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487		-	Passed the House of Representatives the ____ day of __________,
488		-	2023.
489		-
490		-
491		-
492		-	Presiding Officer of the House
493		-	of Representatives
494		-
	463	+	COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
	464	+	February 21, 2023 - DO PASS AS AMENDED