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Senate Bill S8755

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Relates to foreign adoptions

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Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

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2025-S8755 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:
A9498
Current Committee:
Senate Rules
Law Section:
Public Health Law
Laws Affected:
Amd §4138-b, Pub Health L (as proposed in S.3765 & A.1944)
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:
A8412

2025-S8755 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Removes the 18 year old age limitation for the adoption of a foreign-born person.

2025-S8755 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S8755 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf 

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8755
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 8, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  RIVERA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to foreign adoptions
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Subdivision 1 of section 4138-b of the public health  law,
 as amended by a chapter of the laws of 2025 amending the  public  health
 law  relating  to  foreign  adoptions,  as proposed in legislative bills
 numbers S. 3765 and A. 1944, is amended to read as follows:
   1. Whenever the finalization of a foreign adoption or recognition of a
 foreign adoption of a person of any age pursuant to section one  hundred
 eleven-c  of  the  domestic relations law, or the adoption of a foreign-
 born person [over the age of  eighteen]  OF  ANY  AGE  at  the  time  of
 adoption  has  been reported to the commissioner, the commissioner shall
 file a birth certificate for the adopted person  provided  there  is  no
 other  birth certificate or other birth record on file other than in the
 country where such person was born and provided, further, that a certif-
 icate of birth data does not exist for that person. Such  birth  certif-
 icate shall be filed upon receipt of: proof that the adoptive parent was
 a resident of this state at the time of adoption or that the adoptee was
 lawfully  adopted  within  the  State  of  New  York; if the adoptee was
 adopted in a foreign country or jurisdiction, a  copy  of  the  adoption
 documents  of  the  jurisdiction  or  country  in  which  the person was
 adopted; a certified translation  of  the  foreign  adoption  documents,
 evidence  of  the  date  and  place  of  the adopted person's birth; and
 evidence of IR-3, IR-4 or IH-3 immigrant  visa  status  or  a  successor
 immigrant  visa  status. The birth certificate shall include the adopted
 person's name, sex, date of birth, time of birth, place of birth,  moth-
 er's maiden name, and father's name. A birth certificate issued pursuant
 to  this  section  which  has  been  filed  by a local registrar and all
 supporting documentation shall be submitted by the  local  registrar  to
 the commissioner who shall file a new birth certificate pursuant to this
 section.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD05172-02-6

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