Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Family Law Immigration topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Senate committee backs bill to allow confirmatory adoptions and standby guardianships for parents facing immigration actions
Summary
A Judiciary Committee report on H.98 would create an expedited confirmatory adoption process for parents who used assisted reproduction and allow standby guardianships for children when a parent is subject to adverse immigration proceedings; the Senate voted to propose committee amendments to the House and ordered third reading.
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday reported H.98, a bill combining two substantive policy changes: an expedited confirmatory adoption process for parents who conceived by assisted reproduction and a standby guardianship mechanism for children whose custodial parents are subject to adverse immigration proceedings.
Senator Hashim, reporting for the committee, told the Senate the two parts were combined because “they either establish or modify existing policies for probate hearings involving parents and their kids.” The committee voted 5–0 to recommend the bill with the committee’s proposed amendments.
The bill’s confirmatory adoption provisions would add a section to Title 15A establishing an expedited process for parents who are already legal parents under Vermont law to obtain a court order that is more likely to be recognized in other states. The reporter referenced the Full Faith and Credit principles and a 2016 U.S. Supreme Court decision cited in committee testimony as background on interstate recognition of adoption decrees.
The standby guardianship portion creates a process for a custodial parent to pre‑execute consent forms and related documents so a proposed guardian can file if the parent is rendered unavailable by detention, deportation, denial of entry or related actions. The bill includes definitions of “adverse immigration proceeding,” thresholds for emergency or non‑emergency hearings, notice rules (with narrow exceptions where notice may be waived), presumptions and timelines for hearings, and rule changes to permit remote appearances and adjusted filing requirements when a parent’s location or circumstances make compliance impracticable.
Committee testimony included legislative counsel, the director of family advocacy from GLAAD, the director of the Vermont Asylum Assistance Program, an attorney from Vermont Legal Aid, and the chief superior judge, according to the report. The reporter said the committee’s intent is to mitigate harms to families when federal immigration actions make a parent temporarily or permanently unavailable to care for a child.
After the committee report, the Senate voted to “propose to the House to amend the bill as recommended by the committee on judiciary.” The ayes prevailed and the Senate ordered third reading of H.98.
The bill text reported to the Senate sets the confirmatory adoption provisions to take effect July 1, 2025; the standby guardianship provisions take effect on passage. The committee report notes a 5–0 vote in committee and identifies the witnesses who testified in support and explanation of the bill.
What happens next: The Senate sent its proposal of amendment to the House and ordered third reading; any final passage will depend on concurrence between the two chambers or a conference process if differences remain.
