H.B. 51 Adoption Amendments

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Every vote

• 11 yes, 0 noHouse Judiciary Committee: vote to change the bill · Jan 23, 2026Who voted how
• 11 yes, 0 noHouse Judiciary Committee: vote to approve it · Jan 23, 2026Who voted how
• 66 yes, 1 no, 8 absentFinal House vote · Feb 4, 2026Who voted how
• 3 yes, 0 no, 4 absentSenate Health and Human Services Committee: vote to change the bill · Feb 19, 2026Who voted how
• 3 yes, 0 no, 4 absentSenate Health and Human Services Committee: vote to approve it · Feb 19, 2026Who voted how
• 23 yes, 0 no, 6 absentFirst of two Senate votes · Feb 25, 2026Who voted how
• 21 yes, 0 no, 8 absentFinal Senate vote · Feb 26, 2026Who voted how
• 66 yes, 0 no, 9 absentHouse vote to accept the other chamber's changes · Feb 27, 2026Who voted how

Hearings and debates

• Jan 23, 2026 House Judiciary Committee▶ Watch
  Transcript (36 turns)

  1. Rep. Katy Hall13:31

     Hall, HB 51 Adoption Amendments Representative Hall. Thank you Chair Libe and thank you committee for having me again. Let's see you do your bill. Somebody tell me how to make this go big. Let's see. Let, Is it, I plugged it in. It's working. Okay. How do I make that part Slideshow? Slideshow, Yes. And present from first slide or start? There you go. From current slide. Okay. There you go. We'll just go. Okay. See we did this one. There we go. Okay. All right. Um, thank you committee for having me again. Um, I don't wanna belabor too much why we're here. Um, as this has been heard several issues or several times over the interim. So I just wanna give a quick refresher of how this came to me. A constituent who works at a healthcare facility in northern Utah reached out to me with serious concerns about a sharp increase in the amount of adoptions her facility was seeing. All of a sudden in the fall of 2024, not only the increase, but the birth moms all from similar demographics, low income drug, some was drug histories, sometimes with mental deficiencies nearly all from out of state, most without any support system because they were brought here from out of state to give birth. And also the adoptive parents coming from out of state In looking into the issue more, um, the agencies involved were also not following some hospital protocols. Um, and the healthcare providers had serious concerns when some of these birth moms wouldn't even answer questions without someone from the agency at their side. Further review over the last few, couple months even indicates that a couple of the agencies have damaged relationships with, um, a couple of hospitals moving from one hospital to the next. And they have never addressed those concerns with those hospitals and moved on to another facility. Um, and the same practices have continued as a result. Concerns have been continued to escalate and the behavior has become a little more brazen. So many of us have received emails and seen the media coverage and highlighting these practices, um, over the last few weeks. I think this underscores exactly why we are here today. We need to establish clearer standards and stronger guardrails when it comes to adoption in Utah. Numerous accounts of this transactional treatment of birth mothers use of cash payments, rising costs of adoption, poor compliance of reporting have demonstrated the, the weaknesses that we have in Utah's adoption laws and have contributed to an environment that allows misuse of the system. And of these birth moms, the conditions have resulted in real harm to birth mothers and have last lasting impressions, um, and emotional impacts on those involved in their care as well. Since November since the last meeting, we've had several, um, additional discussions with stakeholders regarding these concerns. And as a result, we have this new substitute. We even just had another one drop online with a couple of last minute things, um, from representatives. And I really appreciate, I wanna, uh, emphasize how much I appreciate them working with me on this. Um, I wanna thank all the stakeholders who've come to the table to find, uh, solutions to improve, uh, Utah's adoption law and our reputation in the adoption world. Um, so I'm just gonna go over, I'm not gonna go over all the things from the bill. We've been through that many times. Um, I'll highlight the changes from the last bill to this one. It is a lot longer. It looks a lot longer because, um, one of the, one of the questions that we had, um, was the way we were labeling child placing adoption agencies. It didn't have adoption in there. And so we wanted to distinguish between foster agencies and adoption agencies, which pulled in a ton more of the code. And so that's why it's so much longer. So we've just clarified that. Um, we updated the definition of coercion. There's updates. The biggest probably substantive change is we heard from the courts just a couple of days ago that they didn't have a procedure for asking for an agency to ask to increase, um, any caps that we put on. They don't have a procedure for that like some other states do that we kind of patterned it after. So what we did is we put it into that consortium where the consortium, the, an agency can go to the consortium and say, Hey, we have this mom with these special circumstances, um, we need these increases. And the consortium can look at that. And I think that's one of the beautiful things about this bill is that consortium, because not only are they gonna be bringing us a lot of data, they're they're also gonna be helping each other to have, um, the most ethical practices. Um, a couple of other things we did, we required agencies to inquire about a birth mother's health before transferring her to Utah. Um, that was because of an issue that happened, um, in the last couple of months. Um, we also said that, uh, if DHHS gets a report of, or a file of complaint, they can, they can look into it. Um, and we clarified the, if the birth mother waives the revocation period, it needs to be done in writing. And then just a couple of last clarifications clarifies. The court has to determine whether consent was given under duress, fraud or undue influence and requires that an, and if there's an attorney that arranges a placement of child, they also have to report the fees and expenses to the office of licensing. Um, 'cause they are not necessarily part of the licensed placing agencies, but we still wanna get that data from them on adoptions that they have. Um, and I think that's all the changes I have. There might be some we talk about through questions, um, but that, that is my presentation. I'm happy to take questions.

  2. Committee chair (presiding)19:28

     Alright, great. You've done a lot of work on this and this committee has done a lot of work on this, so thank you. Thank you. Alright, we will come back to the committee for any clarifying questions or discussion. All right. Seeing no lights, we're going to go to the public for comment. Is there anybody in the room that would like to speak to this bill? Alright, I see, I see a few hands and then I have a few online as well, so we'll limit the time to, um, two minutes. I don't see a lot of hands, so I'll have a two minute testimony time and then we will come back for committee action. So Representative Hall, would you like to maybe sit back on the first row or come up here on the DAAs so that we can, and then for public comment, two of you come up, one speak and one be ready to speak. And remember, please to sign the role so that we have a record of your name and please state who you're representing, if any organization or group. And thank you for being here. There should be a microphone on either end. Um, Okay. Please proceed. Alright.

  3. Valerie Majaral, resident20:50

     Um, my name is Valerie, me Oral. Um, I am a mother. I'm sorry. Could you pull that microphone down closer to you? Yeah. Thank you. Is that better? That's better. Okay, good. Um, my name is Valerie, me Oral. I am a mother, a sister, a friend, a regional credit manager, and I'm a birth mom. My experience took place 30 years ago, but it highlights an issue that's persisted for far too long. The trafficking and exploitation of birth moms brought to Utah for adoption purposes. In 1995, I was a high school senior growing up in a small town of Wyoming. When I found out I was pregnant through the LDS Social Services, I was connected to the Utah Agency. From the very beginning, I was told that I needed to give birth and all paperwork be signed in the state of Utah. The issue of the birth father's rights came up multiple times during my pregnancy. The agency drove down to Wyoming to have him sign his rights away. In the final months of my pregnancy, I was transported to Utah to live with the host family for the final, final last month. Overnight, I lost my entire support system, my family, my friends, my teachers, my job. I became isolated. I went into labor. I walked through those hospital doors alone, a giving birth to perfect baby boy. Within 48 hours, I was back in a car driving to Wyoming, heartbroken empty armed carrying the lifelong title of birth wom as my scarlet letter. Listening to the sessions the last few months, one thing has become very clear. Utah's very is largely uneducated about the realities of adoptions. Those who pose, oppose the reform are the ones who benefit financially from our system. It is designed to help the agencies. Utah adoption costs remain among the highest in the nation while post-placement support for birth moms is minimal. We cannot continue to call ourselves a family friendly state while ignoring the fact that vulnerable pregnant women are being brought across the state lines for profit, giving birth here and leaving without a trace. It is time for transparency and for accountability, we must track how many women are coming in Utah to give birth. We need to ensure that the financial support given to a birth mom is a resource and not an incentive or a trap. We need to regulate the cost of adoptions. We need to extend the relinquishment period, and we need to ensure that all parties involved have the protection and the support that they need. As a Utah voter taxpayer facilitator of the Utah Birth Mom support group and a birth mom, I am asking for change, accountability, compassion, and truth. Thank you so much for being here and sharing your thoughts.

  4. Committee chair (presiding)23:21

     Alright, we'll move to the next commenter. Please proceed.

  5. Ashley Mitchell, Co-Founder, Utah Adoption Rights23:24

     Hi, my name is Ashley Mitchell. I'm a birth mom. I'm born and raised Utah, and I'm a, uh, Springville resident. I'm also the co-founder of Utah Adoption Rights, a grassroots movement, um, supporting positive adoption reform in our state. I'm asking support. Um, in passing HB 51, we have spoken to countless women who are enticed to travel to Utah by a handful of adoption agencies here, offering them financial inducements to relinquish their children for adoption. We worked with a Pennsylvania birth mom who had documented intellectual disability and who was convinced to travel here based on the promise of receiving $9,000 in cash After signing papers. As soon as she left Utah, she lost her Pennsylvania housing in the dead of winter. In 2024, the agency evicted her from her apartment with no plan to Helper secure safe housing. And the promised money was never received. A Florida mom who was only five months along was transported here by an agency given $300 of cash for living expenses. And when she expressed that she was still trying to thoughtfully decide if adoption was right for her, the agency threatened to have her arrested for fraud. We spoke to a Texas mom as she rode a multi-day Greyhound bus home just two days after giving birth and relinquishing her fourth child for adoption. Struggling with addiction and deep emotional pain. She told us she felt trapped in a cycle turning to the same agency again and again for true support. Yet this support for a mom who struggled with substance use was a wad of cash when it should have been social work and rehabilitation support. We have spoken countless adoptive families who have paid out their entire life savings, taken out loans, gotten second mortgages on their homes, and relied on the empty promises of agencies whose focus on child welfare issue had been transactional. Lastly, we've spoken to the adapted individuals who have grown up to learn that they were treated as commodities while people in power turned a blind eye to children being bought and sold. We can be pro-family or we can be pro transaction, but we can not be both. Thank you.

  6. Committee chair (presiding)25:20

     Thank you. Thank you for being here and sharing your thoughts. Anyone else? Please come forward.

  7. Tara Romney Barber, Adoption and Clinical Director, Children's Service Society25:35

     Hello again. My name is Tara Romney Barber and I'm the adoption and Clinical programs director at Children's Service Society of Utah, a licensed child placing agency. I am here to express my support for House Bill 51. As the state prides itself on being a family centered as as being family centered. Utah currently has the opportunity to set a national standard on ethical adoption practices. I believe this bill provides essential safeguards by strengthening oversight of child placing agencies clearly defining permissible adoption practices and increasing transparency and limits around fees and advertising to ensure that the financial supports function as a resource rather than as an incentive to support expectant parents by closing gaps that have been misused in ways that harm birth parents, the children they place, and adoptive families. This bill would help restore trust in Utah adoption and will help ensure adoption remains a viable and safe option for women and couples facing an unexpected pres pregnancy. For these reasons, I respectfully Encourage your support.

  8. Committee chair (presiding)26:45

     Alright, thank you. We will move to some online public commenters. First. Martin Munoz.

  9. Martin Munoz, Kids Count Director, Voices for Utah Children26:58

     Yeah. Thank you to the committee and the chair for the opportunity for me to speak. Uh, my name is Martin Munoz. I'm the kids Counter director with Voices for Utah Children. I'm here to express my organization's support for HB 51 Adoptions Amendment, sponsored by Representative Hall at Voices for Utah Children. Our mission is to advocate for and promote policies that benefit all Utah's children. HB 51 enhances Utah's adoption system by increasing transparency, protecting birth parents from coercion and ensuring ethical practices, uh, across child placing agencies by setting clear financial limits, expanding access to legal and mental health support and strengthening oversight and accountability. The bill emphasizes informed consent and pri prioritizes the best interest of the child. These reforms modernize adoption laws while reinforcing trust, integrity, and fairness for all family members. Uh, I ask you to vote in favor of HB 51 and I thank you for your time.

  10. Committee chair (presiding)28:04

      All right, thank you so much for sharing and for being here online with us. We'll go next to Tara Cooper.

  11. Terra Cooper, Chair, United Adoption28:14

      Good afternoon. My name's Tara Cooper. I'm an adoptive mom and the chair of United for Adoption. Um, I'm here today to express my support for this bill and tell what I've witnessed in Davis County. It's something no mother, child or community should ever have to endure. The agencies who practice these practices allowed by our current adoption code don't care about the women and families they claim to serve. Their only priority is to make money. I have seen firsthand what happens if a mother chooses to parent. One mom was kicked out of the apartment with no offer to help pack a day after giving birth. Two days before Christmas, another mother I met told the agency she wanted to parent and they sent her this text. You have 24 hours tomorrow you'll be on a flight back to Florida. She had six children with her, two with special needs crammed in a two, a tiny two bedroom apartment. We found them in Airbnb. When we arrived, your little boy stretched out his arms. He ran across the room and he said, mom, look, I can put my arms out on fly. These children had, sorry, they'd been locked inside for six months with no access to education. The agency had told their mother that Utah schools were unsafe and they would help set up homeschooling. They did not. These agencies do not truly care about these families. They use coercive abusive tactics targeting vulnerable women through Google ads, isolating them from everyone they know, controlling their medical care expenses and abandoning them the moment they decide to keep their baby. This is not support. They bring in adoptive couples from other states. How is this good for the child to be so far away from their birth families? This is not a family centered care. As an adoptive mom and an advocate for ethical adoption, I beg you to protect these mothers, their children and adoptees who will grow up and one day ask how these practices were allowed to continue. You have the power to ensure that Utah is now the hub for coercive adoption tourism and prevent needless trauma and lifelong heartache. You have the power to make adoption, ethical, humane, and centered on the wellbeing of everyone involved today. You can help change that story. What you do now will impact generations to come. Thank you for your support on this bill.

  12. Committee chair (presiding)30:25

      Thank you. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We'll go next to Seth Stewart.

  13. Seth Stewart, resident30:32

      Thank you. I'm Seth Stewart. Uh, just representing myself. Um, traditionally the judiciary has been the, uh, avenue through which adoptions have been mediated. Um, there are several, uh, assumptions maybe that I'd like to challenge about this bill. Um, one of which is, um, that the uptick in adoptions was viewed as a negative. Um, i, I, I would challenge that that's necessarily something that's a problem to be solved. I understand the arguments about, uh, vetting the, the quality and the conditions as well as the, um, the nature of the agencies and potential coercion there. However, uh, historically, uh, equitable relief and client choice have been the, uh, instruments of choice for, uh, adoptive, prospective adoptive parents and, uh, birth mothers to sort those things out. And the effect of this bill, by regulating and narrowing the scope of which, uh, agencies can participate, it actually narrows client choice, uh, which, which introduces some additional hurdles. Uh, uh, so I I I would submit also that the, uh, the caricatures of the various, uh, birth mothers and their situations, you know, as, as being financially coerced and so on, I, I would ask the the sponsor to, to question why that condition exists. Why does the regulatory environment exists? That seems to incentivize and necessitate mediation through agencies in the first place. Because historically, again, uh, adoption was often, uh, conducted, you know, parent to parent as, as a, as a private kind of a, a seeking of, uh, the, the most wholesome family situation for the child. And so, and, and the courts can facilitate that, but why did we create these additional, uh, intermediaries? I'm not saying that it's wrong for them to exist. I'm not saying it's wrong for abortion. Uh, sorry. Um, abortion's a separate topic that I wanted to bring up, but that for adoption agencies to exist, but a lot of the underlying problems, you know, alleging that it's human trafficking and so on, uh, if we wanted to resolve that problem, I would submit that we would resolve the issues of abortion and the others that are, are, are taxing and straining families and creating these unfortunate situations.

  14. Committee chair (presiding)32:45

      Thank you, Seth. So your, your time is up. Thank you for your comments. Thank you. Urge you if you have further comments to reach out to the committee via email or text message. Alright. We will now move to Ray Johnson, who will be our last public commenter.

  15. Ray Johnson, resident33:02

      Hi, my name is Ray Johnson. I'm an adoptive parent. I have two kids that I adopted through Utah agencies, and I just wanted to make a comment in support of this bill. I think adoption is wonderful and I think that this bill helps keep adoption wonderful in adoptions. The best interest of a minor child should be really high at the top of the list. One thing this bill does, I think is really clearly in their best interest is make agencies, nonprofits, going forward. How did for-profit corporate adoption companies ever come in as considered in the best interest of the child? It's just inexplicable. The current statute for child selling says that there's, it's not a child sale, it's not a purchase if the payments are paid as an act of charity, how are payments ever an act of charity if the companies were for profit? So that's, that's one really meaningful step this bill takes is to, to focus on a nonprofit industry that has a lot better footing to actually serve people instead of chasing profits. If there's one thing I could change about this bill, it's a statute that's not referenced in the bill at all. But we still have on the books in this state a statute to realize since agencies with a history of chronic violations. And I don't see how that fits the interest of children either. It shouldn't be such a tolerance for violations or ethical misconduct like our state has tolerated so far. But overall, wholly support this bill and I hope the committee will pass it.

  16. Committee chair (presiding)34:42

      Thank you. All right. We'll come back to the committee for Potential Action Representative Abbott.

  17. Rep. Carl Abbott34:50

      Thank you Madam Chair. I would move to adopt substitute number two. All right. The motion is to adopt substitute number two. Would you like to speak to that motion? Yes. I would like to thank the sponsor of this bill for working with me and, um, for, uh, just all of her hard work on this important topic and getting this bill to where, a place where I think it's a really good bill and can support that. And so I think sub two is a great sub and support the bill as a whole.

  18. Committee chair (presiding)35:22

      Alright, thank you. Discussion to the motion Representative ox here.

  19. Rep. Clinton Okerlund35:27speaker not certain

      Thank you Madam Chair. Um, I would support that motion and I also wanted to, uh, recognize that I have had a lot of concerns along the way and I am grateful for the bill sponsor for working through those and finding a really great path forward. So I appreciate that. And I think this is gonna do a lot of good. So thank you very much.

  20. Committee chair (presiding)35:45

      Thank you representative. Alright. Seeing no further lights, we'll go back to the sponsor.

  21. Rep. Katy Hall35:52

      That is a friendly, um, amendment. I'm, I'm grateful for, for the representatives coming to me and, and working with me on this. Um, I, is this where I sum? I'm not sure. Or is this just on the sub?

  22. Committee chair (presiding)36:07

      On the sub. Okay. Not the full sum. So I'm

  23. Rep. Katy Hall36:09

      Really friendly, friendly substitution. Thank you.

  24. Committee chair (presiding)36:13

      Okay, perfect. All right. We'll take a vote on the substitute amendment. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Alright. That motion passes unanimously now to the bill representative gracious.

  25. Rep. Stephanie Gricius36:33

      Thank you Madam Chair. I would move that we pass this with a favorable recommendation.

  26. Committee chair (presiding)36:37

      Alright. The motion is to favorably recommend second substitute HB 51. Discussion to that motion. Seeing none. Um, actually I didn't go to you. Would you like to speak to your motion? I apologize.

  27. Rep. Stephanie Gricius36:56

      I'll waive. All right. That has been waived.

  28. Committee chair (presiding)37:00

      Now we'll go to the sponsor for summation.

  29. Rep. Katy Hall37:02

      Thank you. And thank you for the motion. Um, I just wanna close with a story that, that actually came to me from the original constituent who first came to me a few weeks ago. She said, she described an a recent adoption that she assisted with, with, and she said both parties were supported with compassion and professionalism by the agency and by the healthcare team. And it was a loving process. And as she shared this with me, she became emotional. And she said that after witnessing so many transactional cases in the last year and a half, she had momentarily forgotten how beautiful adoption can be. And that came back to her in that moment. And I think even though adoption is difficult for everyone involved, she said it remains an extraordinary gift. And we need to keep that. We need to keep that extraordinary gift here in Utah. Utah should be known as the state that protects mothers, supports families, and upholds ethical and compassionate adoptions. This legislation moves us so much closer to that goal, and I'm asking for your support. Thank you.

  30. Committee chair (presiding)38:10

      All right, thank you. And we will take a roll call vote on the mo. Oh, would you like to sum on your motion?

  31. Rep. Stephanie Gricius38:21

      It's a great bill. Pass it. Okay. Awesome.

  32. Committee chair (presiding)38:25

      Thank you, representative gracious. And thank you Representative Hall. It truly has been a lot of work to get to this point, and so grateful for where we have arrived. Uh, we'll take a roll call. Vote

  33. Unknown speaker38:36speaker not certain

      16. Can you, uh, Numbered? Is that the right one? That the right one? There you go. Okay.

  34. Unknown speaker38:48speaker not certain

      Representative Abbott. Aye. Acton Aye. Oxia Aye. Gracious. Aye. Hawkins. Aye. Lube? Aye. Manga. Aye. Millard Aye. Thompson. Aye. Clancy. Aye. Libe? Aye. All right. That passes unanimously.

  35. Committee chair (presiding)39:13

      Congratulations. First hurdle. Done. Okay, we will, let's move now to item number three, HB 86, restricted persons amendments. And I'm gonna go to Representative Mauga.

  36. Rep. Cory Mauga39:31

      Thank you Chair. Um, I am asking if we could lift this bill and,

• Feb 3, 2026 House floor debate▶ Watch
  Transcript (3 turns)

  1. Unknown speaker4:17speaker not certain

     Second substitute house bill 51, adoption Amendments by Representative Hall. This bill was heard in judiciary with vote of 11 0 0

  2. Rep. Katy Hall4:25

     Representative Hall. Thank You Mr. Speaker. Motion to circle.

  3. Speaker (presiding)4:29

     Thank you representative. That motion is ordered. Go and place the motion. The motion before us the House circle second substitute HB 51. All in favor say aye. Any opposed? Will that motion passes. The bill's been circled. Madam Reading Clerk

• Feb 4, 2026 House floor debate▶ Watch
  Transcript (17 turns)

  1. Speaker (presiding)32:53

     The motion before us The house encircle. Second Substitute. HP 51. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Without motion passes. The bill's been encircled and before the body for further consideration. Representative Hall, back to you. Back to you.

  2. Rep. Katy Hall33:08

     Thank you Mr. Speaker. Motion to adopt the third substitute.

  3. Speaker (presiding)33:12

     Give us just a minute on that representative. Okay, I have that here. That motion is in order. Would you like to speak to it?

  4. Rep. Katy Hall33:30

     Yes. This addresses concerns that DCFS had with some of the, um, adoption agency definitions. So the drafter has clarified that the provisions in this bill apply only to the private adoption agencies and not to DCFS and the, and the adoptions that they deal with.

  5. Speaker (presiding)33:47

     Thank you. Representative Hall Discussion to the Motion to adopt third substitute on HP 51. See none. We will go ahead and place the motion. The motion be for us is the House Adopt third substitute under Representative Hall's name on HP 51. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Will that motion passes? The bill's been substituted before the body for further consideration. Representative Hall, back to you for presentation.

  6. Rep. Katy Hall34:17

     Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Colleagues. HB 51 was a judiciary committee bill, um, that I've been working on since last May. Uh, it addresses some concerns raised around out-of-state recruitment and travel to Utah for adoption. This bill will ensure proper oversight for physical and mental health concerns when pregnant women are brought into Utah for adoption purposes. It'll help prevent exploitation and improve Utah's reputation for ethical adoption. The bill improves oversight and accountability of adoption agencies by creating a workable consortium of licensed adoption agencies, overseen by a neutral party within DHHS to help with improving transparency, ensuring agencies clearly disclose their practices and fees and collecting much needed data regarding adoption in Utah. HB 51 protects birth parents and adoptive parents by clarifying rights, consent standards and required disclosures. Uh, it will help protect families from misleading information and bad actors in this space. Adoption is very emotionally complex and this bill will help clarify and ensure that decisions are informed, voluntary and respected. It clarifies permissible payments and fees. Helping prevent financial pressure or coercion by setting clearer boundaries will reduce under unethical practices while still allowing appropriate support for birth mothers and adoptive families. And finally, it strengthens access to counseling and support services for these birth mothers and recognizes that adoption impacts mental, emotional and physical health for everyone involved. In total, this bill is actually about strengthening Utah's adoption laws and ensuring ethical, transparent, and, and it's ensuring that they are ethical, transparent, and centered on the wellbeing of the infant birth mother and and families. And I'm happy to take any questions. Oh, and all the stakeholders are either supportive or neutral on this bill.

  7. Speaker (presiding)36:15

     Thank you. Representative Hall discussion to the bill Representative Thompson.

  8. Rep. Jason E. Thompson36:20

     Thank you Mr. Speaker. I wanna rise in, uh, support of this bill. Um, this, uh, you know, I've, I've traveled, um, uh, quite a bit and there's, um, two occasions over the past year that adoption has come up on my travels. And, um, and, and both the times that that adoption came up and the fact that I was from Utah, um, Utah's reputation for adoption was anything but acceptable. And, um, I've been, um, on committee, I've heard the committee hearings, I've heard the testimony, uh, I've seen the countless, um, hours that the sponsor has put in to try and, um, make sense of the issue to try and be fair to try and protect birth mothers, um, as well as these children. And, um, try and find a fine line where we can bring, um, dignity, um, uh, to the adoption process and ensure that everyone in the adoption process is protected and has a good experience. So I would urge my colleagues to, uh, support this bill. And again, I want to express my appreciation to the good sponsor for her work.

  9. Speaker (presiding)37:34

     Thank you Representative Thompson. Further discussion to Bill Representative Watkins.

  10. Rep. Christine F. Watkins37:40

      Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Pro tem. Uh, I too rise in support of this bill. Um, the good sponsor didn't know that I had been involved in some of this for a very, very long time. And, uh, we were fighting money. We were fighting, um, people who were not being upfront and ethical. And, uh, in other states, young mothers who were under a great deal of duress were being directed to Utah to have their babies thinking that thing that, um, they'd be able to have their baby get some help and maybe, or maybe not put it up for adoption. And then once they were here, there just really wasn't a choice for them. And so they leave with a few dollars in their pocket and their baby is gone. So to do this will be such a positive thing for the state of Utah. And, uh, I condemn, I support the, uh, uh, representative for the work that she has done. Thank you, Mr. Speaker ProAm.

  11. Speaker (presiding)38:45

      Thank you Representative Watkins. Further discussion to the bill Representative Hansen.

  12. Rep. Leah Hansen38:51

      Thank you, Mr. Oh, thank you Mr. Speaker. Will the, uh, sponsor yield to a question? Sponsor yield? Yes, go ahead. Thank you Mr. Speaker Pro Tem. I think this is a great bill. I just have a question regarding the substitute on line 2 42 47 May, no, not 2 47. There was, there was a line that just talked about a fee to a membership fee for the consortium who will be paying for that membership fee.

  13. Rep. Katy Hall39:24

      Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the, the consortium will be made up of all of the adoption agencies in Utah of the private adoption agencies in Utah. And they will be splitting the fee that, that it costs to be in that consortium. So they'll each be paying roughly they thought maybe a thousand dollars. So,

  14. Rep. Leah Hansen39:41

      Okay. Thank you. Which Makes the fiscal note zero. So Thank you Mr. Speaker

  15. Speaker (presiding)39:45

      ProAm, You Representative Hansen. Further discussion to the bill. Seeing none, Representative Hall for summation.

  16. Rep. Katy Hall39:53

      Thank you Mr. Speaker. HB 51 is about doing adoption better in the state. And what's really been great about this process is that all of the stakeholders have finally come together and are ready for this to get, go forward and start repairing Utah's Utah's reputation in the adoption space. So I encourage everyone's vote. Thank you.

  17. Speaker (presiding)40:12

      Thank you. Representative Hall voting is open on third substitute house bill 51 adoption amendment being all present having voted voting will be closed. Third substitute house bill 51 having received 66 yay votes and one nay vote passes the house and will be transmitted to the Senate for further consideration. Representative Fiefia.

• Feb 4, 2026 House floor debate▶ Watch
  Transcript (16 turns)

  1. Speaker (presiding)33:26

     Okay, I have that here. That motion is in order. Would you like to speak to it?

  2. Rep. Katy Hall33:30

     Yes. This addresses concerns that DCFS had with some of the, um, adoption agency definitions. So the drafter has clarified that the provisions in this bill apply only to the private adoption agencies and not to DCFS and the, and the adoptions that they deal with.

  3. Speaker (presiding)33:47

     Thank you. Representative Hall Discussion to the Motion to adopt third substitute on HP 51. See none. We will go ahead and place the motion. The motion be for us is the House Adopt third substitute under Representative Hall's name on HP 51. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Will that motion passes? The bill's been substituted before the body for further consideration. Representative Hall, back to you for presentation.

  4. Rep. Katy Hall34:17

     Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Colleagues. HB 51 was a judiciary committee bill, um, that I've been working on since last May. Uh, it addresses some concerns raised around out-of-state recruitment and travel to Utah for adoption. This bill will ensure proper oversight for physical and mental health concerns when pregnant women are brought into Utah for adoption purposes. It'll help prevent exploitation and improve Utah's reputation for ethical adoption. The bill improves oversight and accountability of adoption agencies by creating a workable consortium of licensed adoption agencies, overseen by a neutral party within DHHS to help with improving transparency, ensuring agencies clearly disclose their practices and fees and collecting much needed data regarding adoption in Utah. HB 51 protects birth parents and adoptive parents by clarifying rights, consent standards and required disclosures. Uh, it will help protect families from misleading information and bad actors in this space. Adoption is very emotionally complex and this bill will help clarify and ensure that decisions are informed, voluntary and respected. It clarifies permissible payments and fees. Helping prevent financial pressure or coercion by setting clearer boundaries will reduce under unethical practices while still allowing appropriate support for birth mothers and adoptive families. And finally, it strengthens access to counseling and support services for these birth mothers and recognizes that adoption impacts mental, emotional and physical health for everyone involved. In total, this bill is actually about strengthening Utah's adoption laws and ensuring ethical, transparent, and, and it's ensuring that they are ethical, transparent, and centered on the wellbeing of the infant birth mother and and families. And I'm happy to take any questions. Oh, and all the stakeholders are either supportive or neutral on this bill.

  5. Speaker (presiding)36:15

     Thank you. Representative Hall discussion to the bill Representative Thompson.

  6. Rep. Jason E. Thompson36:20

     Thank you Mr. Speaker. I wanna rise in, uh, support of this bill. Um, this, uh, you know, I've, I've traveled, um, uh, quite a bit and there's, um, two occasions over the past year that adoption has come up on my travels. And, um, and, and both the times that that adoption came up and the fact that I was from Utah, um, Utah's reputation for adoption was anything but acceptable. And, um, I've been, um, on committee, I've heard the committee hearings, I've heard the testimony, uh, I've seen the countless, um, hours that the sponsor has put in to try and, um, make sense of the issue to try and be fair to try and protect birth mothers, um, as well as these children. And, um, try and find a fine line where we can bring, um, dignity, um, uh, to the adoption process and ensure that everyone in the adoption process is protected and has a good experience. So I would urge my colleagues to, uh, support this bill. And again, I want to express my appreciation to the good sponsor for her work.

  7. Speaker (presiding)37:34

     Thank you Representative Thompson. Further discussion to Bill Representative Watkins.

  8. Rep. Christine F. Watkins37:40

     Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Pro tem. Uh, I too rise in support of this bill. Um, the good sponsor didn't know that I had been involved in some of this for a very, very long time. And, uh, we were fighting money. We were fighting, um, people who were not being upfront and ethical. And, uh, in other states, young mothers who were under a great deal of duress were being directed to Utah to have their babies thinking that thing that, um, they'd be able to have their baby get some help and maybe, or maybe not put it up for adoption. And then once they were here, there just really wasn't a choice for them. And so they leave with a few dollars in their pocket and their baby is gone. So to do this will be such a positive thing for the state of Utah. And, uh, I condemn, I support the, uh, uh, representative for the work that she has done. Thank you, Mr. Speaker ProAm.

  9. Speaker (presiding)38:45

     Thank you Representative Watkins. Further discussion to the bill Representative Hansen.

  10. Rep. Leah Hansen38:51

      Thank you, Mr. Oh, thank you Mr. Speaker. Will the, uh, sponsor yield to a question? Sponsor yield? Yes, go ahead. Thank you Mr. Speaker Pro Tem. I think this is a great bill. I just have a question regarding the substitute on line 2 42 47 May, no, not 2 47. There was, there was a line that just talked about a fee to a membership fee for the consortium who will be paying for that membership fee.

  11. Rep. Katy Hall39:24

      Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the, the consortium will be made up of all of the adoption agencies in Utah of the private adoption agencies in Utah. And they will be splitting the fee that, that it costs to be in that consortium. So they'll each be paying roughly they thought maybe a thousand dollars. So,

  12. Rep. Leah Hansen39:41

      Okay. Thank you. Which Makes the fiscal note zero. So Thank you Mr. Speaker ProAm,

  13. Speaker (presiding)39:47

      You Representative Hansen. Further discussion to the bill. Seeing none, Representative Hall for summation.

  14. Rep. Katy Hall39:53

      Thank you Mr. Speaker. HB 51 is about doing adoption better in the state. And what's really been great about this process is that all of the stakeholders have finally come together and are ready for this to get, go forward and start repairing Utah's Utah's reputation in the adoption space. So I encourage everyone's vote. Thank you.

  15. Speaker (presiding)40:12

      Thank you. Representative Hall voting is open on third substitute house bill 51 adoption amendment being all present having voted voting will be closed. Third substitute house bill 51 having received 66 yay votes and one nay vote passes the house and will be transmitted to the Senate for further consideration.

  16. Speaker (presiding)41:14

      Representative Fiefia.

• Feb 19, 2026 Senate Health and Human Services Committee▶ Watch
  Transcript (39 turns)

  1. Sen. Keith Grover, Committee chair1:21:20

     And it looks like we have a fourth sub. Are we gonna speak to that sub? Yes. Okay. So we're gonna go ahead, uh, and adopt the sub if Senator Escamilla would like to do that. Sure.

  2. Sen. Luz Escamilla1:21:31

     Um, make a motion that we, um, substitute, embody and title HB 51, substitute three, and to be replaced with fourth substitute HB 51.

  3. Sen. Keith Grover, Committee chair1:21:43

     Okay. All in favor of that motion, please say Aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay. The bill is substituted and before US Representative Hall.

  4. Rep. Katy Hall1:21:51

     Awesome. Thank you. Mr. Chair, do you, can I plug in? Sorry.

  5. Unknown speaker1:21:57speaker not certain

     Well, you can't do, though, is bring that mic a little closer and I'm sure you can, can I Plug In? You don't have to ask staff about plugging in. That's above my pay grade. Might be above mine too. I follow through when I was there last. Is it? I think I got it.

  6. Rep. Katy Hall1:22:16

     Oh, there it is. Alright, perfect. Okay. Oh, Let's see. How do I make it go big? Um, is it slideshow? Oh, slideshow. Yay. Okay, cool. All right. Okay. Thank you Mr. Chair. Thanks for having me. Sorry, I'm doing too many things at once today. Um, so this committee didn't hear the backstory on, on this bill, and so I thought I'd just do a, a quick little refresher. My, so I had a constituent who reached out, um, last fall, right? Or last spring, right after the, the session, and said that she was noticing an inordinate amount of adoptions happening at her place of employment. Um, she said they normally have like eight, eight to 10 a year, and in six months they'd had like 35. Um, so I started asking questions. She started telling me, she said, they're all kind of coming from the same demographic, and I'm, I'm really worried. Um, so we reached out, um, to some, I reached out to some other reps in the judiciary interim. We heard this, this bill, um, through I believe at least three committee meetings. Um, and the policy analyst in judiciary had had some research and data and did a policy analysis on what's going on in adoption in Utah and had some, some highlights. I'll just highlight, um, Utah's adoption rate is 11.1 adoptions per 10,000 households, and the national average is 4.9. So we're like over double, um, multiple investigative reports have identified instances of unethical un exploitative behavior. And, um, Utah had been coined the adoption tourism state. Um, and so as we, um, kind of investigated what was going on, um, what we found some, some advertising for out of the state, pregnant need money, these kind of things, um, what we found is that, and what my constituent was concerned with, that a lot of these moms that were here for adoption were being, were coming from out of state as well as the adoptive parents were coming from out of state. And adoption was getting done, and then everybody was leaving the state. And, and there was some stories of envelopes of cash, um, to the moms once they signed. So as we started looking at things, um, there were supposed to be a lot of, um, data gathering that wasn't happening. We were having poor compliance. So all of these things together, what we did was we wanted to address transparency. We wanted to support ethical adoptions, we wanted to improve data collection and agency oversight, and address the cost, the cost of adoptions. So here we have this bill. So what have, what we have in this bill, I'll just, these are some of the things that the bill does, um, on the, the PowerPoint. But I'll tell you the, the biggest things that it does that I think are gonna really help this issue, um, that we're seeing in the state with the so-called adoption tourism. It, um, one of the biggest things, we create a consortium of these private adoption agencies, um, to kind of bring everybody together, have a neutral party within DHHS that will, that will, uh, kind of oversee the consortium and they'll all be a part of it. Um, we're gonna be collecting data on adoptions that make sense. We worked with all the adoption agencies to say what makes sense that we're collecting and what doesn't make sense. And they've clarified that. Um, the, the other thing we do that was a big concern with a lot of the, um, adoptive, um, birth mom groups, um, was that in Utah, once you signed once a once a birth mom signed that paper, there was no relinquishment, or sorry, there was no revoke to the re to consent or relinquishment. Um, once they signed, that was it. There was nothing they could do. And so we are giving, uh, 72 hours notice. Um, one, and then also once the adoption is finalized, uh, or before the adoption is finalized, they could revoke consent if it was done under duress fraud or undue influence. Um, another thing that we're doing is that we're clarifying what can be paid, um, to an adoptive parent and kind of how that can be paid. Um, an agency can pay up to a thousand or $8,000 for living expenses. Um, most of these we would like to be paid to service providers whenever possible, allowing for also a weekly allowance paid weekly. And the consortium, if there, at first we had that, if there was a birth mom that needed more, they could go to the courts and, and petition for more. Um, the agency could on their behalf. But as we talked to the courts, they were not able to do that. They don't have something in place like some of the other states that do that. So what we did is we put that within the consortium. So it will be the consortium headed by DHHS, where if there's a, if there is a, a, a particular mom that needs more, um, then they could go to the consortium and they would all be able to, to say, dad, that's reasonable. And they would have to prove how they need, why they need that, that those increase in funds. Um, let's see. Okay, let me see if I missed anything. There's, there's things all throughout, but these, this kind of highlights, um, it prohibits coercion and, um, restrict signing under medi medication. It also, um, restricts when birth moms could come in. Um, we're saying not after 36 weeks, it's on, you ask any OB and they'll say, you shouldn't be traveling after 36 weeks. These long distances you shouldn't be flying. So we're saying they shouldn't come in after 36 weeks, whenever you can at least address if you know, when that they're that far along with some of the moms they don't know. Um, but so, um, one other change, last change that, that I'll just mention. Um, we had some, we had a hospital that filed a cease and desist, um, to a couple of these adoption agencies. So we're just saying if a hospital has, is gonna take action like that, they need to notify the department and let them know so they can kind of say what's going on. So that was one of the last changes. Um, in, in all this has been a process since last April. Um, we've had multiple, multiple meetings with all of the adoption agencies, and we have everyone that is, that is for what we're doing in this bill. They are ready to move forward, therefore repairing Utah's adoption, um, reputation in the, in the adoption space. And everybody is, everybody is on board with what we've got going on here. I never thought it would happen when we first started, but, but here we are. Um, so that's, that's really all I have and I'm happy to take any questions.

  7. Sen. Keith Grover, Committee chair1:29:21

     Okay. Senator Esil.

  8. Sen. Luz Escamilla1:29:23

     Um, thank you Mr. Chair. And I, I do have a couple of questions. And first just appreciate your, your work on this. I'm, I was in the judiciary, so I got a little bit of, of your process and your journey. I've run a lot of bills related to adoption before, so I'm familiar with, um, the universe. It's a pretty unique place. Yes. It's, so thank you for the work you've done and I, I like the process. So I have, my first question is, um, your consortium, that was not part of what we discussed originally, um, in judiciary. So tell me more about the consortium. Is that, um, is that gonna be housed on HHS and is that an independent entity? How is that gonna be filed in legally?

  9. Rep. Katy Hall1:30:03

     Yeah, so they, so there, there was a consortium within code, um, I believe, um, Senator Wilson had started something, but it didn't have any like, full structure. It was just kind of, there's a consortium of the adoption agencies together. Yeah. So this, um, many of the agencies felt that having one of the agencies over the consortium was not, um, going to be able to, to be able to, uh, manage everything that we've put in here. And so putting it under DHHS with, they'll have someone that, that will kind of run that. They'll develop some bylaws. They'll have quarterly meetings. I I believe we have in there, um, as quarterly meetings. And they'll have, um, it will be paid for by them. They'll have to pay a little fee to, to be in, it'll be all the, the private, um, child agencies

  10. Sen. Luz Escamilla1:30:53

      Follow up question, Mr. Chair. Okay.

  11. Sen. Luz Escamilla1:30:55

      So consortium and then all, all adoption agencies are moving to private non-for-profits, correct? Five one C threes non for

  12. Rep. Katy Hall1:31:04

      Yep. Non-for-profits.

  13. Sen. Luz Escamilla1:31:05

      And so, so all of them, how many are, will be having to change? How many do we have that are actually for profit currently?

  14. Rep. Katy Hall1:31:12

      Um, it, the majority of them already are non, or already are non-profit. It, from what we could tell, there was maybe I think three to five that will have to, that we'll have to change, Change or disappear, whatever.

  15. Sen. Luz Escamilla1:31:25

      And then, you know, and this is something I expressed to you in committee, and you know, this is kinda like the only thing where I, I do have a little bit of an issue and it's, which is, I don't think it impacts what you're trying to do with a bill, but I do take, um, issue with your lines, uh, 3 43 on the having to disclose that someone had Medicaid in a previous state. Like if I'm, you know, I, I recognize we control Utah Medicaid, and we should not be giving Medicaid for anyone that's coming for the specific practice, but I, why would they have to report that they had Medicaid back home and I, from their place of origin? So I, I'm trying to understand still the policy behind that. I mean, like, what are we trying to fig, I mean, what are we solving with having someone disclose that they had Medicaid in California

  16. Rep. Katy Hall1:32:18

      or Arizona as an example? Yeah, I, I think it's more just the data collection, um, on, um, who is coming in and if they're, if they had Medicaid in their other state, are we then bringing them in and putting them on Medicaid in our state or did Medicaid from their state pay for it? So it's kind of has more to do with just getting that data collection simply. Yeah.

  17. Sen. Luz Escamilla1:32:41

      Yeah. And follow up Mr. Chair, and why I say this is because we are making on the next line, right on, I think it's e cannot get Medicaid in Utah. So we're already saying we're not gonna give you Medicaid if you're coming here for that, for that purpose, which I actually agree with that policy. I don't necessarily disagree that based on all the history we've had of being, you know, perceived as a state that, you know, does this, uh, for business situation. But it, again, it, we, I feel uncomfortable. It's like, I don't know that the data related to someone's situation, especially because every state looks different on their Medicaid and their criteria of who gets Medicaid in some states, um, not in Utah, but in other states, people are putting Medicaid when they're pregnant. I mean, like, there's just other type of mentality about Medicaid that I, I feel still uncomfortable that that label, um, does not give us any data for the purpose of, if you're in Utah for this situation, you're not gonna get Medicaid, fine, then why do you wanna know that I had Medicaid prior to coming here? So that, that's something I've been critical of. I think the bill has gone through a lot of changes and like I said, I do admire the work, um, and your commitment to try to figure out everyone, um, moving into nonprofits, I feel that's important. All the other, um, components are, are critical and, and at least it takes a stigma that we are, you know, creating an environment where we wanna, you know, do exchange of children and lives for a financial situation. So I, I, I applaud you for the bill. I I still feel uncomfortable in that piece piece, but I, I still think you've done a lot and I congratulate you for that. Thank

  18. Rep. Katy Hall1:34:21

      You. I appreciate your comments.

  19. Sen. Luz Escamilla1:34:22

      Thank you.

  20. Sen. Keith Grover, Committee chair1:34:24

      Okay. Anyone else from committee? Okay, we'll go to the public and wanna speak to this Bill, please come forward.

  21. Unknown speaker1:34:43speaker not certain

      Sign the thing. Oh, yeah, you sign it when you're,

  22. Stewart Young, Criminal Deputy Attorney, Utah Attorney General's Office1:34:45

      Hi. Uh, good afternoon. Stuart Young, criminal Deputy Attorney General at the, uh, office of the Utah Attorney General's office. Um, that was redundant. Um, Representative Hall and a number of constituents came to us, uh, uh, a while ago to, uh, to discuss this issue and so forth. It is a very concerning issue. We actually looked at it potentially, you know, if, if there were criminal charges or something like that, that we could go after some of the bad actors for. We looked at coercion, fraud, human trafficking, and human so smuggling and so forth. And each one of those issue, each one of those had their own kind of issues. Representative Hall has put together an excellent bill that, uh, that essentially eliminates the for-profit, um, concept in adoptions, which is kind of the main driver of, uh, the potential criminal activity that we were looking at. Uh, and so we believe this bill, uh, is, is vital and necessary to eliminate, um, those bad actors. And so we really appreciate the incredible work that she and, uh, she's done on this bill. And we would urge support.

  23. Sen. Keith Grover, Committee chair1:35:53

      Okay. We'll go online. Okay. Go ahead.

  24. Seth Stewart, resident1:36:12

      Yeah. I'm Seth Stewart. Um, I'm representing myself from American Fork. Um, I, I do have some concerns with this. Um, one, I I think it's, uh, it strikes me as a little strange that we see an increase in the number of adoptions as being inherently problematic. And so, I, I I just generally question that, and as well as the narrative that there's this, uh, adoption tourism going on. Uh, obviously if there is a very sizable, um, impetus to adopt children because of the latter day saint family values that are very rich here in Utah and a lot of other areas where that's less the case. And that's not a matter of pride, but it is a matter of just noting that demographic trend. And so, um, I believe, if anything, we ought to be facilitating adoption, especially given the extraordinarily high abortion rates nationwide. And abortion is still being done here in the state of Utah. And just children who are not being cared for are obviously better off if they can be placed in a family that can provide for them and care for them better than they were being cared for. And something that I think that is at the core of all this that we might not have considered is that parental rights are pre political. And so the notion of having the state mediate adoptions is actually, is somewhat recent innovation. I'm not seeing it in our state's constitution. Uh, it's, it's a matter of private contract. If someone wants to say, Hey, will you take on the care of my children? Traditionally, that would be through familial relationships. That would be the most preferred route, um, because obviously it does impose a societal burden and problem to be solved if someone's not cared for, neglected or abandoned. Right? And so the nearest of kin would be the logical place for that to go. Um, I believe that if Utahans were better off economically, uh, there would be even higher demand for adoptions because there are these children, they do need to be placed, they do need to be cared for, and there are people who are perfectly willing to do that. So I would urge just some, some, I I basically question that, um, the notion that it's an inherently bad thing that adoptions rates are higher or that they've increased. And I, I also question the, the state's authority to regulate the issue, just because it's, I, I don't see a constitutional provenance for that. So for those reasons, I would urge our position to this. Thank you.

  25. Sen. Keith Grover, Committee chair1:38:25

      Thank you, Martin. I think we have online.

  26. Martin Munoz, Director, Voices for Utah Children1:38:32

      Aye. Yes. Thank you. My name is Martin Moz. I'm Kids County director at Voices for Utah Children. I'm here to express my organization support for HB 51 Adoption Amendment and sponsored by Representative Hall of Voices for Utah Children. Our mission is to advocate for and promote policies that benefit all Utah children. Uh, HB 51 enhances Utah's adoption system by increasing transparency, protecting birth parents, ensuring ethical practices across child placing agencies, um, by setting clear financial limits, expanding access to legal, mental health support and strengthening oversight and accountability. The bill emphasize informed consent and prioritizes the best interest of the child. These reform modernize modernizes adoption laws, while reinforcing trust, integrity, and fairness for all families involved. I ask you to vote in favor of HB 51, uh, and, uh, I thank you for your time and consideration.

  27. Sen. Keith Grover, Committee chair1:39:35

      Thank you. I think it's Maryanne

  28. Maryann Christiansen, Executive Director, Utah Legislative Watch1:39:38

      Maryanne Christensen, executive Director of Utah Legislative Watch. I am speaking in favor of the bill. I think it's very important that we keep our focus on what the bill is trying to do. Um, many months ago I saw a documentary and they were interviewing one woman who just was getting pregnant over and over and over again so that she could sell her baby. And, um, I don't think that that circumstance that that particular mother was in the United States, but it was really chilling how she viewed her baby. And it was also really chilling to, to understand what she was doing to her body by just continually having babies and not getting the care in between. Um, but she just, she was very careful not to get any kind of attachment to her baby because it was just a commodity she was gonna sell when it was born. And so, since I saw that documentary, I started looking into whether we have this kind of problem in the United States and tourism adoption. Tourism is the kind word for what's actually going on. The, the other words that people are using is, um, exploitation, financial exploitation, and, um, um, trafficking of babies. I found a documentary in a series called Trafficked, um, season three. Episode six is Black Mar Market Babies. It talks about the problem all over the world, even in developed countries. And then another series called Unreported World has an episode called Georgia's Baby Factory. And this is about the state of Georgia where they have unregulated surrogacy and wealthy parents are using surrogates to, to, um, gestate their babies. For 'em, that sounds really fine, except that critics are saying that they're finding women who need the money so badly that it's a form of exploitation, a form of extortion. Even also, um, taken at Birth is another one about, about child commoditizing babies in the United States. And, um, the episode is called hashtag Big Fertility. It's all about the money and that that one focuses on the emotional trauma to the women and their regret at feeling like they were financially exploitated exploited for, um, the sake of taking their babies. Uh, PBS Frontline did an episode called Desperately Seeking Baby about private baby brokers. And I think that specifically is what Representative Halls Bill is trying to do is, is not allow private baby brokers to come and make sure we have a a, a baby selling state.

  29. Sen. Keith Grover, Committee chair1:42:36

      So please move. Yes, thank you. Good. I'd rather just, okay. Thank you, Ashley.

  30. Ashley Larsen Gibby, resident1:42:46

      Hi. Thank you so much for the time to make comments on this and for this important discussion. Um, I want, before I totally jump into, I'm, I'm supportive of this bill. I think that there's more work to be done, and I'm excited about that. Um, I, my name's Larson Gibby. I'm a Utah resident and a professor at BYUI study adoption and have for years. My current work focuses on birth mothers or women who place children for adoption decades of research, including my own show that expected mothers considering adoption are vulnerable to coercion, especially financial coercion. Um, concerns about repayments of expenses or about, um, travel and what that looks like, like getting stranded in a state. Um, you were brought to, if you decide to not place, um, are common when making placement decisions. We know that when birth mothers feel free of coercion, their, uh, satisfaction about adoption is significantly higher than when they feel some level of coercion and birth mother satisfaction with adoption is very, very strongly related to long-term wellbeing for not only themselves, but for adoptees and for adoptive parents and adoptive families as well. Um, this bill, HP five one, uh, provides reasonable safeguards by clarifying allowable payments, strengthening, um, consent protections through that 72 hour, uh, revocation period. And clarifying things like access to mental health counseling for birth mothers. Uh, these are not barriers to adoption, but they are, uh, protections that strengthen it and make sure that it's a viable, uh, solution for everyone involved. Um, I'm grateful to Representative Hall, um, for sponsoring this bill and urge you to su to support it, um, with the, with the, uh, knowledge that we'll likely need to have more discussions about adoption in Utah.

  31. Sen. Keith Grover, Committee chair1:44:26

      Thank you. Okay. We'll bring it back to committee for further action. Senator Escamilla is that

  32. Sen. Luz Escamilla1:44:33

      Thank you, Mr. Chair. I make a motion that we, uh, favorably recommend for substitute H 3 51 adoption amendments to the floor.

  33. Sen. Keith Grover, Committee chair1:44:42

      Okay. That motion's in order. Would I speak to it?

  34. Sen. Luz Escamilla1:44:45

      Yeah, I mean, I, this is a, a, a very, it's a, it's a unique place and I, I think the more, um, safeguards we put, I think the not-for-profit is gonna change the whole process. It is gonna have a different feeling. I think we're a very, for adoption state. We, we, we, we, it's something that's very unique to Utah, but at the same time, there are always the bad apples that unfortunately, uh, bring a different level of reputation to our state. This will bring tons of safeguards and more importantly, won't take a year to address them because the consortium will be able to raise some of them. And I, I think the consortium is, is a great place. I remember when the good Senator, Senator Wilson brought that, that bill we chatted at length about it, but it, you need a little bit more teeth in there. And, and I think that even paying into it as members is gonna provide that, that part of that, you know, accountability as well. So I, I, you know, I I think it's, it's a great bill. Like I said, I do have that piece on data collection, but overall it's a, it's a good policy. And, and I know you've had to probably spend hours trying to get to a com, you know, consensus. So with that, I think it's, it's a good bill that we should support. Thank you.

  35. Sen. Keith Grover, Committee chair1:45:54

      Thank you. Okay. Back to the bill sponsor. Thank

  36. Rep. Katy Hall1:45:56

      You, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that. I appreciate all the comments and, and the people who commented this, this has been a labor of love. Um, I have spent most of my nursing career as a postpartum nurse and have had to take, have taken care of these birth moms that make this really brave choice to give away their baby to another family. And we owe it to them to, to provide the most ethical, um, loving adoptions that we can in Utah and have Utah be the best place for adoption. Um, and I think this bill really does, uh, strengthen adoptions in Utah. And so I'd ask for your, your affirmative vote. Thank you.

  37. Sen. Keith Grover, Committee chair1:46:35

      And back to the bill. Make a motion waive case. The motion for is to pass out favorably fourth sub HB 51, adoption amendments. All in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay. The bill passes, entertain a final motion.

  38. Sen. Luz Escamilla1:46:49

      Motion to adjourn. Motion aurn. All in favor say aye. Aye.

  39. Sen. Keith Grover, Committee chair1:46:52

      Any opposed? We are adjourn. Thank you.

• Feb 25, 2026 Senate floor debate▶ Watch
  Transcript (10 turns)

  1. Senate presiding officer1:02:50

     President Pro Temp, uh, for substitute senate, uh, house Bill 51.

  2. Sen. Chris H. Wilson1:02:54

     Uh, there we identified a problem here in the state of Utah. Some adoption agencies in Utah have been recruiting economically vulnerable women from out of state, bringing them to Utah. And this has led to some unfortunate outcomes. Utah has been the subject of multiple investigative stories about adoption and has gained the reputation of being an adoption tourism state. Policies that have incentivized this behavior are Utah currently has no revocation period. Once consent is signed, no limits on payments to birth moms poor compliance with the reporting of adoptions and no limit on advertising of cash. Incentives to birth moms. This bill all for all for-profit adoption agencies must become non-profits by 2027. This will help with transparency places caps of $8,000 in living expenses and $200 a week allowance. The bill bans coercive practices and prohibits promising financial benefits in exchange for child relinquishment expands a consortium and requires all private agencies to be a part places DHHS as a neutral party to oversee and assist agencies in data collection and improving needs. With regard to monetary caps, it asks for robust reporting on adoptions. Birth parents get a 72 hour window to revoke consent after signing right to independent legal counsel if they choose right to mental health therapy before and after relinquishment. If hospitals take any action on any agency, they need to report it to DHHS and they must start an investigation. Mr. President Pro temp. Pro tempt, there has been many meetings with stakeholders over the past year. All of stakeholders are supportive or neutral on this bill and are eager, eager to get the work to restore Utah's reputation in the adoption space. With that, uh, concludes my reputa my presentation and open to questions.

  3. Senate presiding officer1:04:55

     Thank you for that presentation. It's our discussion to the bill. Senator Escamilla.

  4. Sen. Luz Escamilla1:05:00

     Thank you. Thank you Mr. President ProAm. I rises in support of this bill and the important work of many, many years. And I know the, um, Senate, the senate sponsor and myself both have been working on this issue for, for years now. And I, and also, um, Senator Weiler, I, I know this has been a labor of love to try to make sure we are protecting, uh, biological mothers, uh, uh, adoptive parents, but also those children and those kiddos need to make sure that their integrity is protected. This bill is moving us in the right direction to make sure the industry is, um, it has some protections and regulations that keep everyone safe and it removes the non-profit, I mean, makes everything non-profit, which I think is again, showing that Utah deeply care for families and we are a very welcoming state and we wanna continue to welcome, um, the families that wanna grow their, their, their families through the process of adoption in a safe place. And I really applaud, um, not only the chief sponsor, but everybody else has been part of this and I'll be supporting the bill. Thank you.

  5. Senate presiding officer1:06:09

     Thank you. Further discussion to the Bill. Senator Weiler,

  6. Sen. Todd Weiler1:06:13

     Uh, thank you. I, I rise, uh, in tepid support of the bill. I, we heard this in interim last fall and I wanna commend the house sponsor. Um, she received a lot of feedback and she was able to make some changes. So it's in a position, uh, that I, I will support. I do want the body to understand that the vast majority of adoptions in this state will not be covered by this bill. This bill only applies to private adoption agencies. So a lot of adoptions are, uh, the family knows somebody and there's no agency involved. Um, and there's also a lot of adoptions out of, uh, foster care or DCFS custody. And so while this, um, this bill does, I think impose some good guidelines on, um, adoption agencies, I just want everybody to know that probably less than probably over three fourths of the adoption this state will not be impacted by this bill, but I'm going to vote. Aye, thank you.

  7. Senate presiding officer1:07:11

     Thank you. Further discussion to the bill. Seeing none. Senator Wilson back to you.

  8. Sen. Chris H. Wilson1:07:16

     I appreciate that. I'll, I'll waive, uh, and a motion that for substitute house bill 51 be read a few Third time

  9. Senate presiding officer1:07:22

     The question Shall force substitute house bill 51 be read for a third time. Roll call vote.

  10. Senate presiding officer (roll call)1:07:27

      Senator Vickers Baldy Lewin Aye. Brammer bus cullimore escamilla Fillmore rover Aye. Harper Aye. Kinins Ipson Aye. Johnson Juab McKay Mikel Milner Musselman Owens Owens pitcher Plum Rebe Sandal Stevenson Stratton Bickers Weiler Aye. Wilson Aye. Winterton Aye. President Adams For substitute house bill 51, having received 23 Naval zero Naval six being absent will be read for a third time.

• Feb 26, 2026 Senate floor debate▶ Watch
  Transcript (8 turns)

  1. Sen. Chris H. Wilson36:15

     Board today from the Good Senator Vickers from Salt Lake City in Bountiful. And I appreciate the work from the, the good sponsor in the house on another step forward. Uh, the adoption amendments of us trying to find loving parents, uh, for these children, uh, this bill will definitely help restore Utah's reputation in the adoption space. So I, uh, again appreciate all those of support. It's definitely consensus, bill. I've been working on it for a number of months with many stakeholders. So with that I'll conclude. Happy to answer any questions.

  2. Senate President pro tem (presiding)36:47

     Mr. President Proto Discussion to the bill. Seeing none. Back to you. Senator Wilson. For summation or a motion?

  3. Sen. Chris H. Wilson36:57

     Uh, I'll wave on summation. Mr. President Prote and move that, uh, force substitute house bill 51 pass

  4. Unknown speaker37:03speaker not certain

     The motion is shall force substitute house Bill 51 pass roll call vote. Senator Ipson Baldry Wyn Brammer Bus Cullimore Escamilla Fillmore Aye. Grover Harper Hankins Aye. Ipson Johnson Quan McKay Mikel Wright Milner Musselman Owens Pitcher Plum Rebe Sandal Stevenson Stratton Vicars Weiler Wilson Wilson. I Winterton Pitcher I

  5. Senate President (presiding)37:55

     President Adams Fourth Substitute house bill 51 Having received 21 yay votes. Zero NA votes. Eight being absent passes and will be returned to the house for further consideration.

  6. Senate President (presiding)38:13

     First substitute house bill 1 26. First substitute house bill 1 26 Micro education entity Facility Amendments. Senator Fillmore. Senator Wilson.

  7. Senate President (presiding)38:31

     We have a motion to circle. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? That motion passes. The bill is circled.

  8. Senate President pro tem (presiding)38:38

     Second substitute house bill 97. Second substitute house bill 97 Medical waste amendments. Senator Vickers, Senator Vickers, President pro tem.

• Feb 27, 2026 House floor debate▶ Watch
  Transcript (5 turns)

  1. Speaker (presiding)5:46

     Fourth substitute house bill 51, adoption Amendments by Representative Hall. Representative Hall. Thank

  2. Rep. Katy Hall5:57

     You Mr. Speaker. Motion to concur with the Senate. That motion is in order. Would you like to speak to it? Um, yes. These are, these are just clarifications that we made around a child placing agency and the consortium, just making sure that it applies to private child placing agencies.

  3. Speaker (presiding)6:16

     Thank you. Representative Hall. Discussion to the motion to concur with the Senate amendments. See none. Would you like to waive or sorry? Would you like to sum?

  4. Rep. Katy Hall6:27

     I do. Like, I would like to waive. Thank you.

  5. Speaker (presiding)6:29

     Thank you. Summation has been waived. So we'll go, uh, directly to final passage voting on, oh, sorry. I gotta place the motion. All in favor of concurring with the Senate amendment. Say aye. Any opposed? Will that motion passes? Uh, voting will now be open for final passage on four substitute HB 4 51. See now president having voted and voting now closed four. Substitute HB 51 passes this body with 66 Yes votes zero. No votes will be sent to the Senate for its for, yeah. Sent to the Senate for the signature of the president. Madam Reading Clerk