Senate Bill 2247

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 93-17-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY THAT UNMARRIED ADULTS WHO ARE COHABITING OUTSIDE OF MARRIAGE WITH ONE OR MORE SEXUAL PARTNERS MAY NOT ADOPT UNDER MISSISSIPPI LAW AND TO PROVIDE THAT THE COURTS OF THIS STATE SHALL NOT RECOGNIZE AN ADOPTION IN ANOTHER STATE OR JURISDICTION BY MORE THAN ONE INDIVIDUAL THAT IS NOT MARRIED UNDER THE TERMS OF MISSISSIPPI LAW; TO AMEND SECTION 93-17-21, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY THERETO; TO AMEND SECTION 93-12-19, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT CHILD SUPPORT ORDERS FROM ANOTHER STATE OR JURISDICTION RESPECTING A RELATIONSHIP OTHERWISE PROHIBITED BY THE LAWS OF THIS STATE SHALL NOT BE ENFORCED; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 93-17-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

93-17-3. (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (2) and (3), a court of this state has jurisdiction over a proceeding for the adoption of a minor commenced under this chapter if:

(a) Immediately before commencement of the proceeding, the minor lived in this state with a parent, a guardian, a prospective adoptive parent or another person acting as parent, for at least six (6) consecutive months, excluding periods of temporary absence, or, in the case of a minor under six (6) months of age, lived in this state from soon after birth with any of those individuals and there is available in this state substantial evidence concerning the minor's present or future care;

(b) Immediately before commencement of the proceeding, the prospective adoptive parent lived in this state for at least six (6) consecutive months, excluding periods of temporary absence, and there is available in this state substantial evidence concerning the minor's present or future care;

(c) The agency that placed the minor for adoption is licensed in this state and it is in the best interest of the minor that a court of this state assume jurisdiction because:

(i) The minor and the minor's parents, or the minor and the prospective adoptive parent, have a significant connection with this state; and

(ii) There is available in this state substantial evidence concerning the minor's present or future care;

(d) The minor and the prospective adoptive parent are physically present in this state and the minor has been abandoned or it is necessary in an emergency to protect the minor because the minor has been subjected to or threatened with mistreatment or abuse or is otherwise neglected; or

(e) It appears that no other state would have jurisdiction under prerequisites substantially in accordance with paragraphs (a) through (d), or another state has declined to exercise jurisdiction on the ground that this state is the more appropriate forum to hear a petition for adoption of the minor, and it is in the best interest of the minor that a court of this state assume jurisdiction.

(2) A court of this state may not exercise jurisdiction over a proceeding for adoption of a minor if, at the time the petition for adoption is filed, a proceeding concerning the custody or adoption of the minor is pending in a court of another state exercising jurisdiction substantially in conformity with the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act or this section unless the proceeding is stayed by the court of the other state.

(3) If a court of another state has issued a decree or order concerning the custody of a minor who may be the subject of a proceeding for adoption in this state, a court of this state may not exercise jurisdiction over a proceeding for adoption of the minor unless:

(a) The court of this state finds that the court of the state which issued the decree or order:

(i) Does not have continuing jurisdiction to modify the decree or order under jurisdictional prerequisites substantially in accordance with the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act or has declined to assume jurisdiction to modify the decree or order; or

(ii) Does not have jurisdiction over a proceeding for adoption substantially in conformity with subsection (1)(a) through (d) or has declined to assume jurisdiction over a proceeding for adoption; and

(b) The court of this state has jurisdiction over the proceeding.

(4) Any person may be adopted in accordance with the provisions of this chapter in termtime or in vacation by an unmarried adult or by a married person, as defined by Mississippi law, whose spouse joins in the petition, except that unmarried adults who are cohabiting outside of marriage with one or more sexual partners may not adopt. The adoption shall be by sworn petition filed in the chancery court of the county in which the adopting petitioner or petitioners reside or in which the child to be adopted resides or was born, or was found when it was abandoned or deserted, or in which the home is located to which the child has been surrendered by a person authorized to so do. The petition shall be accompanied by a doctor's or nurse practitioner's certificate showing the physical and mental condition of the child to be adopted and a sworn statement of all property, if any, owned by the child. In addition, the petition shall be accompanied by affidavits of the petitioner or petitioners stating the amount of the service fees charged by any adoption agencies or adoption facilitators used by the petitioner or petitioners and any other expenses paid by the petitioner or petitioners in the adoption process as of the time of filing the petition. If the doctor's or nurse practitioner's certificate indicates any abnormal mental or physical condition or defect, the condition or defect shall not, in the discretion of the chancellor, bar the adoption of the child if the adopting parent or parents file an affidavit stating full and complete knowledge of the condition or defect and stating a desire to adopt the child, notwithstanding the condition or defect. The court shall have the power to change the name of the child as a part of the adoption proceedings. The word "child" in this section shall be construed to refer to the person to be adopted, though an adult.

(5) Adoption by couples of the same gender is prohibited.

(6) The courts of this state shall recognize a decree, judgment or final order creating the relationship of parent and child by adoption that is issued by a court or other governmental authority with appropriate jurisdiction in a foreign country or in another state or territory of the United States. The rights and obligations of the parties as to matters within the jurisdiction of this state shall be determined as though the decree, judgment or final order were issued by a court of this state, except that this state, any of its agencies, or any court of this state shall not recognize an adoption by more than one (1) individual who is not married under the terms of Mississippi law.

(7) No person may be adopted before a court-ordered home study of the prospective adopting parties is satisfactorily completed if required by Section 93-17-11.

SECTION 2. Section 93-17-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

93-17-21. (1) A certified copy of any final decree deemed valid and recognizable under Mississippi law shall be furnished to the Bureau of Vital Statistics, together with a certificate signed by the clerk giving the true or original name and the place and date of birth of the child. The said bureau shall prepare a revised birth certificate which shall contain the original date of birth, with the place of birth being shown as the residence of the adoptive parents at the time the child was born, but with the names of the adopting parents and the new name of the child. In all other particulars, the certificate shall show the true facts of birth. The fact that a revised birth certificate is issued shall be indicated only by code numbers or some letter inconspicuously placed on the face of the certificate. The word "revised" shall not appear thereon. However, in the event an unmarried adult shall be the adopting parent, then such birth certificate may show thereon, upon order of the chancellor as set forth in the decree of adoption, that same is a revised birth certificate, giving the court where said decree was issued and the date of such decree. The original birth certificate shall be removed and placed, with reference made to the decree of adoption, in a safely locked drawer or vault, and the same shall not be public records and shall not be divulged except upon the order of the court rendering the said final decree or pursuant to Sections 93-17-201 through 93-17-223, and for all purposes the revised certificate shall be and become the birth certificate of the child. However, the Bureau of Vital Statistics of the State of Mississippi shall be required to prepare and register revised certificates only for births which occurred in the State of Mississippi as shown either by the court decree or by the original birth record on file in the bureau; but if the birth occurred in some other state, then the Director of the Bureau of Vital Statistics of the State of Mississippi shall be required to furnish to the attorney or other person representing the adopted child the name and address of the proper official in the state where the child was born, to whom the adoption decree and other information may be referred for appropriate action, and shall furnish to such attorney the certified copy of the decree and the certificate furnished by the clerk.

(2) Provided, however, notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, either an original or a revised birth certificate may be issued, as hereinafter provided, by the Bureau of Vital Statistics to any child who was born outside the United States or its possessions and adopted, either heretofore or hereafter, by an order of a court in this state. Upon presentation of a certified copy of the final decree of adoption containing the required information, the Director of the Bureau of Vital Statistics shall be authorized and directed to receive said certified copy of the decree of adoption and prepare therefrom, and record, a birth certificate which shall disclose the following information: The name of the child (being the adopted name), race, sex, date of birth, place of birth (being the actual town, district and county of said child's birth, except where the child is born in a penal or mental institution where the name of the county shall be sufficient), names, race, ages, places of birth and occupation of parents (being the adoptive parents) including the maiden name of the adoptive mother. Such certificate shall comport in appearance and indicia with the foregoing requirements for a "revised" certificate issued to a child born in this state. The Director of the Bureau of Vital Statistics shall be authorized and directed to issue certified copies thereof, the same as if the birth certificate were that of a child who had never been adopted.

SECTION 3. Section 93-12-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

93-12-19. The laws of this state shall apply in all actions and proceedings concerning the issuance, enforcement and duration of an order for withholding issued by a court of this state, which is based upon a support order of another jurisdiction entered pursuant to Section 93-12-1 et seq., and no such order respecting a relationship otherwise prohibited by or inconsistent with the laws of this state shall be honored or enforced. The penalties contained in Section 93-11-117, Mississippi Code of 1972, shall apply to all orders for withholding issued pursuant to Section 93-12-1 et seq.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2010.