---
type: "Bill"
title: "ADOPTION ACT-VARIOUS"
description: "Amends the Adoption Act. Defines \"adult grandchild\" as the biological grandchild 21 years of age or over of a deceased adopted or surrendered person. Replaces references to the Adoption Advisory Council with references to the Adoption Registry-Confidential Intermediary Advisory Council. Makes changes in Sections concerning the Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical Information Exchange; the Adoption Registry-Confidential Intermediary Advisory Council; disclosure of identifying information; registry matches; the Illinois Adoption Registry Application; and forms. In the Section concerning confidential intermediaries, makes changes in subsections concerning: general purposes; eligibility of petitioner; the petition; confidential intermediary access to information; remedies in the event of a missing or lost original birth certificate; and duties of the confidential intermediary in conducting a search."
jurisdiction: "us/states/il"
legislature: "Illinois General Assembly"
session: "98th"
identifier: "HB 5949"
citation: "Illinois HB 5949 (98th)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: []
version_count: 3
action_count: 32
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2014-02-14"
last_action: "2014-07-10"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/fb472dc4-a973-45b2-8444-aa73083d2824"
source_url: "http://ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=5949&GAID=12&DocTypeID=HB&LegId=81255&SessionID=85&GA=98"
source_hash: "f2acb9e4500c3ccc4dad2067f2f2a0612ff4ad073249023de976185e88e0aeb1"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-il"]
---

# Illinois HB 5949 (98th) — ADOPTION ACT-VARIOUS

Amends the Adoption Act. Defines "adult grandchild" as the biological grandchild 21 years of age or over of a deceased adopted or surrendered person. Replaces references to the Adoption Advisory Council with references to the Adoption Registry-Confidential Intermediary Advisory Council. Makes changes in Sections concerning the Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical Information Exchange; the Adoption Registry-Confidential Intermediary Advisory Council; disclosure of identifying information; registry matches; the Illinois Adoption Registry Application; and forms. In the Section concerning confidential intermediaries, makes changes in subsections concerning: general purposes; eligibility of petitioner; the petition; confidential intermediary access to information; remedies in the event of a missing or lost original birth certificate; and duties of the confidential intermediary in conducting a search.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Introduced** (filed) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09800HB5949&GA=98&SessionId=85&DocTypeId=HB&LegID=81255&DocNum=5949&GAID=12&Session=&print=true)
2. **Engrossed** (committee substitute) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09800HB5949eng&GA=98&SessionId=85&DocTypeId=HB&LegID=81255&DocNum=5949&GAID=12&Session=&print=true)
3. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09800HB5949enr&GA=98&SessionId=85&DocTypeId=HB&LegID=81255&DocNum=5949&GAID=12&Session=&print=true)

## Votes

- Third Reading — **114–0** (pass) · lower
- Third Reading — **55–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Sara Feigenholtz — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2014-02-14** Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Sara Feigenholtz `filing`
- **2014-02-14** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2014-02-14** Referred to Rules Committee `referral-committee`
- **2014-03-03** Assigned to Adoption Reform `referral-committee`
- **2014-03-26** Do Pass / Short Debate Adoption Reform; 005-000-000 `committee-passage`
- **2014-03-26** Placed on Calendar 2nd Reading - Short Debate
- **2014-03-27** Second Reading - Short Debate `reading-2`
- **2014-03-27** Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading - Short Debate
- **2014-04-02** House Floor Amendment No. 1 Filed with Clerk by Rep. Sara Feigenholtz `amendment-introduction`
- **2014-04-02** House Floor Amendment No. 1 Referred to Rules Committee `referral-committee`
- **2014-04-03** House Floor Amendment No. 1 Rules Refers to Adoption Reform
- **2014-04-04** House Floor Amendment No. 1 Recommends Be Adopted Adoption Reform; 004-000-000 `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2014-04-07** Recalled to Second Reading - Short Debate `reading-2`
- **2014-04-07** House Floor Amendment No. 1 Adopted `amendment-passage`
- **2014-04-07** Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading - Short Debate
- **2014-04-08** Third Reading - Short Debate - Passed 114-000-000 `reading-3, passage`
- **2014-04-08** Arrive in Senate `introduction`
- **2014-04-08** Placed on Calendar Order of First Reading April 9, 2014 `reading-1`
- **2014-04-10** Chief Senate Sponsor Sen. Iris Y. Martinez
- **2014-04-11** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2014-04-11** Referred to Assignments `referral-committee`
- **2014-04-30** Assigned to Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2014-05-07** Do Pass Judiciary; 012-000-000 `committee-passage`
- **2014-05-07** Placed on Calendar Order of 2nd Reading May 8, 2014
- **2014-05-12** Second Reading `reading-2`
- **2014-05-12** Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading May 13, 2014
- **2014-05-23** Third Reading - Passed; 055-000-000 `reading-3, passage`
- **2014-05-23** Passed Both Houses
- **2014-06-17** Sent to the Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2014-07-10** Governor Approved `executive-signature`
- **2014-07-10** Effective Date January 1, 2015
- **2014-07-10** Public Act . . . . . . . . . 98-0704 `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/fb472dc4-a973-45b2-8444-aa73083d2824`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Illinois legislature records).