---
type: "Bill"
title: "Domestic relations; adoption; substantially revise general provisions"
description: "A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Article 1 of Chapter 8 of Title 19 of the O.C.G.A., relating to general provisions for adoption, so as to substantially revise the general provisions applicable to adoptions; to change the requirements for adopting children; to provide for a nonresident to allow an adoption of his or her child; to provide for adoption of foreign-born children; to provide for a waiver to revoke a surrender of parental rights; to change the age for individuals to access the Adoption Reunion Registry; to revise and provide for forms; to provide for the annulment of an adoption under certain circumstances; to amend Code Section 15-11-320 of the O.C.G.A., relating to termination of parental rights, so as to correct a cross-reference; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ga"
legislature: "Georgia General Assembly"
session: "2017_18"
identifier: "HB 159"
citation: "Georgia HB 159 (2017_18)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Barry Fleming", "Bert Reeves", "Ed Setzler", "Mary Oliver", "Stacey Evans", "Wendell Willard"]
version_count: 0
action_count: 22
vote_count: 1
first_action: "2017-01-26"
last_action: "2018-09-01"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/163f965e-ddd9-4051-af25-128376ea6aa4"
source_url: "http://webservices.legis.ga.gov/GGAServices/Legislation/Service.svc?wsdl"
source_hash: "acfa2a80b209784c0b456546aa83bf00f213f64c4e7c00d4f5d340870bc54a3f"
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-ga"]
---

# Georgia HB 159 (2017_18) — Domestic relations; adoption; substantially revise general provisions

A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Article 1 of Chapter 8 of Title 19 of the O.C.G.A., relating to general provisions for adoption, so as to substantially revise the general provisions applicable to adoptions; to change the requirements for adopting children; to provide for a nonresident to allow an adoption of his or her child; to provide for adoption of foreign-born children; to provide for a waiver to revoke a surrender of parental rights; to change the age for individuals to access the Adoption Reunion Registry; to revise and provide for forms; to provide for the annulment of an adoption under certain circumstances; to amend Code Section 15-11-320 of the O.C.G.A., relating to termination of parental rights, so as to correct a cross-reference; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

## Version chain

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


## Votes

- PASSAGE — **165–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Barry Fleming — primary (person)
- Bert Reeves — primary (person)
- Ed Setzler — primary (person)
- Mary Oliver — primary (person)
- Stacey Evans — primary (person)
- Wendell Willard — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2017-01-26** House Hopper
- **2017-01-30** House First Readers `reading-1`
- **2017-01-31** House Second Readers `reading-2`
- **2017-02-16** House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2017-02-24** House Third Readers `reading-3`
- **2017-02-24** House Passed/Adopted By Substitute `passage`
- **2017-02-27** Senate Read and Referred `referral-committee`
- **2017-03-20** Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2017-03-20** Senate Read Second Time `reading-2`
- **2017-03-22** Senate Recommitted `referral-committee`
- **2018-01-11** Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2018-01-18** Senate Engrossed `passage`
- **2018-01-18** Senate Third Read `reading-3`
- **2018-01-18** Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute `passage`
- **2018-01-18** Senate Transmitted House
- **2018-02-01** House Immediately Transmitted to Senate
- **2018-02-01** House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub As Amended
- **2018-02-05** Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub
- **2018-03-02** House Sent to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2018-03-03** House Date Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2018-03-03** Act 285 `executive-signature`
- **2018-09-01** Effective Date

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/163f965e-ddd9-4051-af25-128376ea6aa4`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Georgia legislature records).