CHAPTER 18
HB 90 - FINAL VERSION
1999 SESSION
HOUSE BILL 90
AN ACT removing the prohibition on adoption and foster parenting by homosexual persons.
SPONSORS: Rep. Buckley, Hills 44; Rep. DeChane, Straf 6; Rep. M. Fuller Clark, Rock 36; Rep. Splaine, Rock 34, Rep. Keans, Straf 16; Sen. Trombly, Dist 7; Sen. Cohen, Dist 24; Sen. Wheeler, Dist 21
COMMITTEE: Children and Family Law
This bill removes the prohibition against homosexual persons acting as adoptive or foster parents.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
99-0231
04/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine
AN ACT removing the prohibition on adoption and foster parenting by homosexual persons.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
18:1 Health and Human Services; Duties of the Department; Reference to Homosexual Removed. Amend RSA 161:2, IV to read as follows:
IV. SUPERVISION AND LICENSING. Supervise all foster family homes and child placing agencies. [The department shall not grant a license to any foster family home in which one or more adults is homosexual. For the purpose of this section "homosexual" means any person who knowingly and voluntarily performs or submits to any sexual act involving sex organs of one person and the mouth or anus of another person of the same gender.] The commissioner of the department of health and human services shall adopt rules under RSA 541-A to ensure that a wholesome living environment is provided to children in such homes.
18:2 Adoption; Who May Adopt; Removal of Prohibition Against Homosexual Persons Adopting. Amend the introductory paragraph of RSA 170-B:4 to read as follows:
Specifically as follows, any individual not a minor [and not a homosexual] may adopt:
18:3 Adoptive Care Act; Adoption by Foster Parents; Removal of Prohibition Against Homosexual Persons Adopting. Amend RSA 170-F:6, I to read as follows:
I. If a child in the custody of the commissioner or a licensed child-placing agency has been in foster care for at least 6 months after the child is legally available for adoptive placement, the commissioner or [his] designee shall inform the family providing care of the possibility of financial aid for adoption under this chapter. If it is found after investigation that the family caring for the prospective adoptee would be an appropriate adoptive family for the child but for the family's economic inability to meet the child's needs, the commissioner or [his] designee, after consultation with local officials as required in RSA 170-F:4, shall enter into a tentative agreement with the family concerning the amount and duration of the proposed subsidy in the event the child is placed for adoption with that family. The commissioner or [his] designee shall in all cases take all steps necessary to assist the family in completing the legal and procedural requirements necessary to effectuate the adoption, including payment for legal fees and court costs.[ For the purposes of this paragraph an appropriate adoptive family shall not be any family in which one or more of the adults is a homosexual.]
18:4 Repeal. The following are repealed:
I. RSA 170-B:2, XV, relative to the definition of a homosexual person.
II. RSA 170-F:2, IV, relative to the definition of a homosexual person.
18:5 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
(Approved: May 3, 1999)
(Effective Date: July 2, 1999)