Politics
Politics

Georgia lawmakers head to showdown over adoption

2/1/18 - Atlanta - Rep. Bert Reeves, R - Marietta, is congratulated after the passage of HB159, concerning adoption, in the House. BOB ANDRES /BANDRES@AJC.COM

Credit: Bob Andres

Credit: Bob Andres

2/1/18 - Atlanta - Rep. Bert Reeves, R - Marietta, is congratulated after the passage of HB159, concerning adoption, in the House. BOB ANDRES /BANDRES@AJC.COM
By Mark Niesse
Feb 2, 2018

A proposal to make adoptions easier and faster in Georgia hangs in the balance at the state Legislature.

The state House of Representatives voted 168-0 on Thursday to pass a compromise to House Bill 159, sending the legislation back to the state Senate.

It's unclear whether senators will accept the latest changes. Some senators object to a part of the bill that would make it legal for adoptive parents to reimburse birth mothers' basic living expenses for rent, food and maternity clothes, saying it could increase adoption costs and result in buying and selling of babies.

But House representatives say paying birth mothers for their expenses is safe, and the adoption measure would help create new families in Georgia. The Senate adjourned Thursday without taking a vote on the legislation.

Exclusive to subscribers: Read the full story on PoliticallyGeorgia.com.

About the Author

Mark Niesse is an enterprise reporter and covers elections and Georgia government for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and is considered an expert on elections and voting. Before joining the AJC, he worked for The Associated Press in Atlanta, Honolulu and Montgomery, Alabama. He also reported for The Daily Report and The Santiago Times in Chile.

Follow Mark Niesse on twitter
More Stories

Keep Reading

Former Fulton County election worker Ruby Freeman talks to her daughter, Wandrea ArShaye "Shaye" Moss, a former Georgia election worker, after she testified before the U.S. House Select Committee at its fourth hearing on its Jan. 6 investigation on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, June 21, 2022. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca Press/TNS)

Credit: TNS

OPINION

The 2020 election interference case is gone, but it can’t be forgotten

The decision by a Georgia prosecutor not to pursue the massive Trump election interference case leaves some bad deeds unpunished.

22m ago

‘Fish wrapper’: The AJC’s complicated relationship with Georgia’s political class

How generations of Georgia leaders battled, berated and depended on the AJC.

A viral confrontation and a sudden resignation shake up Georgia GOP

The man behind the vigilante sting operation that apparently netted a teenage GOP official says he has no regrets.

The Latest

Former Fulton County election worker Ruby Freeman talks to her daughter, Wandrea ArShaye "Shaye" Moss, a former Georgia election worker, after she testified before the U.S. House Select Committee at its fourth hearing on its Jan. 6 investigation on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, June 21, 2022. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca Press/TNS)

Credit: TNS

OPINION

The 2020 election interference case is gone, but it can’t be forgotten

22m ago

A viral confrontation and a sudden resignation shake up Georgia GOP

‘Fish wrapper’: The AJC’s complicated relationship with Georgia’s political class

Featured

Ja’Quon Stembridge, shown here in July at the Henry County Republican Party monthly meeting, recently stepped from his position with the Georgia GOP. (Jenni Girtman for the AJC)

Credit: Jenni Girtman

A viral confrontation and a sudden resignation shake up Georgia GOP

The man behind the vigilante sting operation that apparently netted a teenage GOP official says he has no regrets.

Why the Atlanta school board voted to close and repurpose some schools

Sixteen schools will be repurposed under the APS Forward 2040 plan as enrollment falls and the district seeks better resources for students.

Small-town Georgia DA brings almost as many RICO cases as Fulton’s Fani Willis

Griffin Judicial Circuit has brought 13 RICO indictments since June 2020.