Bills in Arizona, Idaho, and Tennessee are up for consideration in committee this week, plus bills in Iowa and Mississippi are facing critical deadlines. And Maryland’s SB331 needs to get on a Senate committee “vote list” to move forward.
We are still watching Congress to determine when the federal Adoptee Citizenship Act will be reintroduced this session.
Here’s what you can do right now, and this will be updated as the week goes on.
Idaho: NO on HB59
UPDATE: The committee hearing the bill unanimously recommended DO PASS and the bill now moves to full House consideration. No action is currently needed. The House Judiciary committee was set to hear HB59 last week but it was delayed until today (Monday, March 1). The same recommendation for action remains. Request a DO NOT PASS recommendation and ask that HB59 be amended to remove a date-based restriction that makes the bill prospective only.
Arizona: NO on HB2070
Committee Hearing
Wednesday, March 3
9:00am Mountain
Watch
UPDATE: The Senate Health and Human Services unanimously recommended passage of HB2070. Arizona’s HB2070 is a bill that creates donuts for adoptees, with adopted people born between 1968 and 2021 in an empty donut hole— they get nothing. The bill is set for hearing on Wednesday in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, chaired by Senator Nancy Barto. The House last year passed an unrestricted bill with no donut hole restrictions. Not so this year. Email the committee members to request DO NOT PASS. And share the image below on social media.
Tennessee: YES on HB62
Committee Hearing
Wednesday, March 3
12:30pm Eastern
Committee Info
Last week I shared details about HB62 and its companion bill (which has since passed the full Senate). My recommended action—contacting members of the House Civil Justice Committee—remains in place. The committee meets on March 3 for consideration of HB62. You can find more information about what to do here.
Other States/Bills
The Tenneessee Senate companion bill to HB62 has passed the full Senate on a consent calendar vote, 32-0. Iowa’s discriminatory bill may be scheduled in the Senate Judiciary committee this week. And Mississippi’s odd bill (which releases the OBC upon request 18 years after an adoption) was essentially completely rewritten by the House Judiciary Committee.
You can follow these and other bills on Adoptees United, where I maintain legislative maps for state and federal legislation. The map below links to state-level legislation.
2021 Legislation
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