California Senate Bill 927
Session 20252026
Intercountry adoption finalized in a foreign country.
Active
Passed Assembly on Jul 2, 2026
Origin Chamber
Senate
Type
Bill
Bill Number
927
State
California
Session
20252026
Motion Text
Special Consent SB927 Choi et al.
Senate Roll Call Votes
Yes
Yes
Other
Yes
Other
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Other
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Other
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Summary
In order to establish a record by which an adoptee can prove the facts of a foreign adoption, existing law requires a state resident who has finalized an intercountry adoption in a foreign country to file a petition to readopt within the earlier of 60 days of the adoptee's entry into the United States or the adoptee's 16th birthday. If the adoptive parent fails to file the petition within the prescribed timeframe or to provide a copy of the petition to each adoption agency that provided adoption services to the adoptive parent, existing law requires the adoption agency that facilitated the adoption to file the petition within 90 days of the child's entry into the United States and to provide a file-marked copy of the petition to the adoptive parent and any other adoption agency that provided services to the adoptive parent, as specified. Existing law requires the petition to include, among other things, a report from at least one postplacement home visit by an intercountry adoption agency or a contractor of that agency licensed to provide intercountry adoption services in the state. Existing law requires the clerk of the court to submit an order granting the petition to the State Registrar, as specified, and requires the State Registrar to issue a delayed registration of birth upon receipt of the order.
This bill would authorize an adoptee of any age to file a petition on their own behalf if both the adoptive parent or parents and the adoption agency that facilitated the adoption failed to file a petition to readopt pursuant to the above-described provisions. The bill would, notwithstanding the documentation requirements described above, authorize a court to grant a petition for readoption that does not include those documents if (1) the petitioner establishes, by a preponderance of the evidence, that they are the adoptee, (2) the petitioner proves, by a preponderance of the evidence, that one or more of the required documents cannot be obtained due to the passage of time or other circumstances beyond the petitioner's control, and (3) the petitioner is able to establish, by a preponderance of the evidence, the fundamental facts necessary for the court to make the findings required to grant the petition. The bill would authorize evidence presented to the court for these purposes to include both documentary and nondocumentary evidence, including, among other things, testimony, declarations, court records, agency records, correspondence, and other corroborating sources of information the court deems sufficient.
Existing law requires the court to notify all appropriate authorities if it finds that the child may be a subject of human trafficking or may be within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court as a dependent child, as specified.
This bill would also expand the notice requirements described above to include any adoptee who may be, or may have been, a subject of human trafficking.
01/29/26 - Introduced
January 29, 2026
03/23/26 - Amended Senate
March 23, 2026
04/23/26 - Amended Senate
April 23, 2026
06/03/26 - Amended Assembly
June 3, 2026
04/17/26- Senate Judiciary
April 17, 2026
05/08/26- Senate Appropriations
May 8, 2026
05/14/26- Sen. Floor Analyses
May 14, 2026
06/05/26- Assembly Judiciary
June 5, 2026
06/22/26- Assembly Appropriations
June 22, 2026
Sort by most recent
07/02/2026
Senate
In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.
07/02/2026
Assembly
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate.
06/25/2026
Assembly
Read second time. Ordered to consent calendar.
06/24/2026
Assembly
From committee: Do pass. Ordered to consent calendar. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (June 24).
06/09/2026
Assembly
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 12. Noes 0.) (June 9). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
06/03/2026
Assembly
From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on JUD.
06/01/2026
Assembly
Referred to Com. on JUD.
05/22/2026
Assembly
In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
05/22/2026
Senate
Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 33. Noes 0.) Ordered to the Assembly.
05/20/2026
Senate
Ordered to special consent calendar.
05/14/2026
Senate
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
05/14/2026
Senate
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (May 14).
05/12/2026
Senate
Set for hearing May 14.
05/11/2026
Senate
May 11 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
05/04/2026
Senate
Set for hearing May 11.
04/23/2026
Senate
Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
04/22/2026
Senate
From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 13. Noes 0. Page 3976.) (April 21).
04/14/2026
Senate
Set for hearing April 21.
04/08/2026
Senate
Re-referred to Com. on JUD.
03/23/2026
Senate
From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.
02/11/2026
Senate
Referred to Com. on RLS.
01/30/2026
Senate
From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 1.
01/29/2026
Senate
Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.
Sources
Record Created
Jan 30, 2026 8:35:50 AM
Record Updated
Jul 3, 2026 9:16:04 AM