BILL NUMBER: SB 1758	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Figueroa

                        FEBRUARY 24, 2006

   An act relating to adoption.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1758, as introduced, Figueroa  Adoption facilitators.
   Existing law provides a comprehensive scheme regarding adoption
regulation, and also provides for the regulation of adoption
facilitators, as defined.
   This bill would declare the Legislature's intent to enact
legislation that ensures the protection of birth parents or
prospective adoptive parents in dealing with adoption facilitators.
The bill would also set forth related findings and declarations.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares the
following:
   (1) The sharp rise in the number of adoptions, and a significant
increase in adoption fees, has created an expanding industry for
adoption facilitators in California.
   (2) Adoption facilitators are not licensed as adoption agencies,
but are adoption intermediaries who are required to hold a business
license, be bonded in the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000),
and are regulated by California law in the areas of disclosure and
advertising.
   (3) Recent accounts of fraudulent practices by adoption
facilitators demonstrate that current regulations are not strict or
extensive enough to safeguard birth parents and prospective adoptive
parents from fraud.
   (b) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that
ensures the protection of birth parents and prospective adoptive
parents in dealing with adoption facilitators.