--- title: HB 434. Crimes and offenses; offense of selling a child for financial gain; provide collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb434 cite_as: HB 434, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb434 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb434.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb434/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70293 date: 2025-04-04 status: introduced corpus_version: bills-2026-08-28 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb433.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb435.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 249 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb434.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 434 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-02-12 last_action: House Withdrawn, Recommitted sponsors: - Carmen Rice - Mandi Ballinger - Beth Camp - Angie O'Steen - Karen Mathiak - Kimberly New text_version: Comm Sub has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB434/2025 upstream_id: 1968152 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - adoption law - child welfare - criminal code - adoption inducements --- # HB 434. Crimes and offenses; offense of selling a child for financial gain; provide ## Text 25 LC 48 1487S The House Committee on Judiciary, Juvenile offers the following substitute to HB 434: A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Article 1 of Chapter 8 of Title 19 of the Official Cod e of Georgia Annotated,1 relating to general provisions relative to adoption, so as to redesignate the provisions of Code2 Section 19-8-24, relating to advertising restrictions and unlawful inducements, as a new Code3 section in Chapter 12 of Title 16, relating to offenses against the public health and morals;4 to provide for conforming changes; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws;5 and for other purposes.6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:7 SECTION 1.8 Article 1 of Chapter 8 of Title 19 of the Official Code of Geor gia Annotated, relating to9 general provisions relative to adoption, is amended by redesignating the provisions of Code10 Section 19-8-24, relating to advertising restrictions and requirements, "inducements" defined,11 unlawful inducements, penalties, exemption for personal communications, and civil actions,12 as Code Section 16-12-6, by repealing and reserving Code Section 19-8-24, and by adding13 a new subsection to Code Section 16-12-6 to read as follows:14 "(h) All terms used in this Code section shall have the same meanings as defined in Code15 Section 19-8-1."16 H. B. 434 (SUB) - 1 - 25 LC 48 1487S SECTION 2.17 Said article is further amended by revising paragraph (4) of su bsection (c) of Code18 Section 19-8-13, relating to petition, filing and contents, fin ancial disclosures, attorney's19 affidavit, and redaction of certain information unnecessary, as follows:20 "(4) Reasonable expenses for the biological mother as set forth in subparagraph (c)(1)(C)21 or (c)(1)(D) of Code Section 19-8-24 16-12-6;"22 SECTION 3.23 Said article is further amended by revising paragraph (3) of su bsection (a) of Code24 Section 19-8-18, relating to hearing, district attorney to be directed to review inducement25 violations, decree of adoption, factors considered in determining best interests of child, and26 disposition of child on denial of petition, as follows:27 "(3) If the adoption petition is filed pursuant to Code Section 19-8-5, the court shall28 examine the financial disclosures required under subsections (c ) and (d) of Code29 Section 19-8-13 and make such further examination of each petit ioner and his or her30 attorney as the court deems appropriate in order to make a determination as to whether31 there is cause to believe that Code Section 19-8-24 16-12-6 has been violated with regard32 to the inducement, as such term is defined in Code Section 19-8 -24 16-12-6 , of the33 placement of the child for adoption. Should the court determine that further inquiry is in34 order, the court shall direct the district attorney for the county to review the matter further35 and to take such appropriate action as the district attorney in his or her discretion deems36 appropriate."37 SECTION 4.38 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.39 H. B. 434 (SUB) - 2 - ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary. A House Judiciary substitute would move Georgia's existing ban on illegal payments for adoption placements out of the adoption code and into the criminal code, without appearing to add a brand-new crime of selling a child for financial gain despite the bill's title. ### Plain-language summary Under current Georgia law, Code Section 19-8-24 in the adoption title (O.C.G.A. § 19-8-24) already bans certain advertising and unlawful payments (called 'inducements') connected to placing a child for adoption, and it sets penalties, an exemption for personal communications, and civil remedies. This bill takes that entire existing provision and relocates it into the criminal code, specifically Chapter 12 of Title 16, which covers offenses against public health and morals, and renumbers it as Code Section 16-12-6. The old adoption-title section is repealed and left blank ('reserved'). A new subsection is added stating that terms in the relocated section carry the same meanings used elsewhere in Georgia's adoption law (O.C.G.A. § 19-8-1). Two other adoption sections, on financial disclosures in adoption petitions and on court review of inducement violations, are updated to point to the new section number, 16-12-6, instead of the old one. ### What it does - Moves the existing ban on unlawful adoption inducements and advertising violations from the adoption code (O.C.G.A. § 19-8-24) into the criminal code as new O.C.G.A. § 16-12-6. - Repeals and leaves blank ('reserves') the old O.C.G.A. § 19-8-24 so the substance now lives only in the criminal code section. - Adds a subsection to the new criminal code section clarifying that its terms follow the definitions already used in Georgia's adoption law (O.C.G.A. § 19-8-1). - Updates cross-references in the adoption petition financial disclosure rules (O.C.G.A. § 19-8-13) and the adoption hearing rules (O.C.G.A. § 19-8-18) to point to the relocated section 16-12-6. ### Who it affects People involved in Georgia adoptions, including biological parents, adoptive parents, adoption attorneys, and courts handling adoption petitions, along with district attorneys who investigate possible violations of the inducement rules referenced in these sections. ### Why it matters By moving the inducement ban into the criminal code chapter for offenses against public health and morals, the bill signals it as a criminal matter rather than purely a family-law issue, which could affect how the provision is classified, prosecuted, or cited in future cases involving improper payments tied to adoption placements. ### Key provisions - Section 1 redesignates Code Section 19-8-24 (advertising restrictions, unlawful inducements, penalties, exemptions, and civil actions in adoption) as new Code Section 16-12-6 in the criminal code, and repeals the old section. - Section 1 adds subsection (h) to the new Code Section 16-12-6 stating its terms follow the definitions in Code Section 19-8-1. - Section 2 updates a cross-reference in Code Section 19-8-13, on financial disclosures in adoption petitions, from 19-8-24 to 16-12-6. - Section 3 updates a cross-reference in Code Section 19-8-18, on adoption hearings and district attorney review of inducement violations, from 19-8-24 to 16-12-6. - Section 4 repeals any other laws that conflict with the bill. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-02-12) - Last action: House Withdrawn, Recommitted (2025-04-04) - Sponsors: Carmen Rice, Mandi Ballinger, Beth Camp, Angie O'Steen, Karen Mathiak, Kimberly New - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70293 > The history, votes, and amendments (249 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb434.md?full=1