SESSION OF 2024
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON HOUSE BILL NO. 2549
As Amended by House Committee of the Whole

Brief*
HB 2549, as amended, would amend law in the Kansas
Adoption and Relinquishment Act (Act) governing petitions to
terminate parental rights (TPR) and notice required to be
given in a hearing on a petition for adoption.

Termination of Parental Rights Petitions
The bill would specify a TPR petition may be filed only
as part of a petition for adoption or as a separate action in
connection with the petition for adoption. Current law provides
a TPR petition may be filed as an independent action.
For TPR petitions that are filed separately from petitions
for adoption, the bill would specify venue for TPR petitions
must be in the county where the child or a parent resides or is
found, and the order granting the petition must:
● Be in substantial compliance with the Kansas
Judicial Council (Judicial Council) form;
● Be a final judgment that is appealable as a matter
of right;
● Satisfy the Act requirement that the necessity for
consent or relinquishment is eliminated (if the order
is not appealed); and

____________________
*Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research
Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental
note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at
http://www.kslegislature.org
 ● Be effective only upon the filing of an adoption
decree.
Notice of Hearing on Adoption Petitions
The bill would reorganize and clarify provisions related
to the notice of hearing required to be given after a petition for
adoption has been filed in various types of adoptions, as
follows.

Independent and Stepparent Adoptions
The bill would require notice in an independent and
stepparent adoption to be given to:
● The parents, presumed parents, or possible
parents;
● Any person who has physical custody of the child;
and
● Any legal guardian of the child.
Private Agency Adoptions
The bill would require notice in a private agency
adoption to be given to:
● The consenting agency;
● The parents, the presumed parents, or possible
parents;
● Any relinquishing person;
● Any person who has physical custody of the child;
and
● Any legal guardian of the child.
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Public Agency Adoptions
The bill would require notice in a public agency adoption
to be given only to the consenting agency.
Other Amendments
The bill would also clarify that a person who receives
notice of a hearing on an adoption petition would not be made
a party or granted standing based solely on the fact that the
person received such notice. The bill would further specify
that notice is not required to be given to a person whose
parental rights have been terminated or to a person who or
agency that has waived the right to receive notice in writing.

Background
As introduced, the bill contained provisions related to
TPR petitions. The House Committee of the Whole inserted
the provisions of SB 115, as passed by the House,
concerning notice in adoption petitions. Background for both
bills are described below.

HB 2549 (Termination of Parental Rights Petitions)
The bill was introduced by the House Committee on
Judiciary at the request of a representative of the Judicial
Council.
House Committee on Judiciary
In the House Committee hearing, a representative of the
Adoption Law Advisory Committee of the Judicial Council
provided proponent testimony, stating the statute’s current
language allowing “independent actions” has been
misinterpreted by some petitioners and that the change in the
bill would prevent the filing of TPR petitions against a parent

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when no related adoption proceeding is pending before a
court. No other testimony was provided.
House Committee of the Whole
The House Committee of the Whole adopted an
amendment inserting the contents of SB 115, as passed by
the House in the 2023 Legislative Session. [Note: SB 115 is
currently in conference between the Senate Committee on
Judiciary and the House Committee on Child Welfare and
Foster Care, but no action had been taken by the Conference
Committee at the time House Committee of the Whole took
action on the bill.]

SB 115 (Notice of Hearing on Adoption Petitions)
The bill was introduced by the Senate Committee on
Judiciary at the request of a representative of the Kansas
Judicial Council.
Senate Committee on Judiciary
In the Senate Committee hearing on February 8, 2023,
proponent testimony was provided by representatives of
Saint Francis Ministries and the Kansas Judicial Council, who
stated the objective of the bill is to correct issues that have
arisen as a result of the Legislature expanding notice
requirements for public agency adoptions in 2018, which has,
in some cases, resulted in trauma for a child when a
biological parent whose rights have been terminated attended
the hearing.
No other testimony was provided.
House Committee on Child Welfare and Foster Care
In the House Committee hearing on March 15, 2023,
proponent testimony was provided by representatives of
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Saint Francis Ministries and the Kansas Judicial Council, who
restated their positions from the Senate Committee hearing.
The House Committee amended the bill to make it
effective upon publication in the Kansas Register [Note: This
amendment was not retained by the House Committee of the
Whole.]

Fiscal Information

HB 2549
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
the Budget on the bill, the Office of Judicial Administration
indicates enactment of the bill would have a negligible effect
on the number of adoptions and, therefore, any effect on
expenditures and revenue for the Judicial Branch and the
State General Fund would be minimal.
The Department for Children and Families indicates
enactment of the bill would not have a fiscal effect on the
agency.
The Judicial Council indicates enactment of the bill
would have no fiscal effect on the agency and that it would
develop the form required under the bill.
Any fiscal effect associated with enactment of the bill is
not reflected in The FY 2025 Governor’s Budget Report.

SB 115
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
the Budget on the bill, as introduced, the Office of Judicial
Administration states enactment of the bill could have a fiscal
effect on Judicial Branch operations because the bill’s
provisions would require district court clerks to send adoption
hearing notices to additional individuals, which would
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increase the clerks’ workload. The Office indicates a fiscal
effect cannot be estimated until the Judicial Branch has had
an opportunity to operate under the bill’s provisions. Any
fiscal effect associated with enactment of the bill is not
reflected in The FY 2024 Governor’s Budget Report.
Termination of parental rights; adoption; Kansas Adoption and Relinquishment Act;
Kansas Judicial Council; notice of hearing


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Statutes affected:
As introduced: 59-2136
{As Amended by House Committee of the Whole}: 59-2133, 59-2136
Enrolled: 59-2133, 59-2136