HB2936 amends two child-related statutes in Oklahoma: the Oklahoma Gestational Agreement Act and the Oklahoma Adoption Code. Under the gestational agreement provisions, the bill bars a person from serving as an intended parent if that person has been convicted of a crime against a child, including child sexual abuse, child sexual exploitation, or lewd molestation of a child. The bill also retains existing eligibility rules for gestational agreements, including age, marital-status, and immigration-related restrictions.
For adoption, the bill expands the list of disqualifying convictions for prospective adoptive placements. A child may not be placed in a home if the petitioners or anyone living in the home has been convicted of certain felony offenses, including child abuse or neglect, crimes against a child, and violent crimes such as rape, sexual assault, or homicide, as well as certain recent assault, domestic abuse, battery, or drug-related offenses. It also makes clear that a child cannot be placed with a person subject to the Oklahoma Sex Offenders Registration Act, or with someone who lives with or is married to a registrant.
The bill’s practical effect is to tighten screening standards for both surrogacy and adoption by adding or reinforcing criminal-history exclusions tied to child safety. It would amend Sections 557.5 and 7505-5.1 of Title 10, affecting intended parents in gestational carrier arrangements, prospective adoptive parents, and other adults residing in adoptive homes. The act is set to become effective November 1, 2026.
The available legislative history suggests broad support and little visible opposition. The bill passed the House committees unanimously and then passed the House floor 68-0, indicating strong consensus around the child-protection rationale. The only recorded committee discussion snippet is procedural, with no substantive objections captured in the provided materials.
The main point of contention, based on the text itself, is the scope of the disqualifying criminal-history rules, especially the inclusion of crimes against a child and the categorical ban on placements involving sex offenders or people living with them. However, no specific opposition arguments appear in the provided transcript or vote record.
HB2936 would amend Oklahoma’s Gestational Agreement Act and Adoption Code to impose additional criminal-history restrictions on who may participate as an intended parent in a gestational agreement and who may receive placement of a child for adoption. It would add a categorical bar for intended parents convicted of crimes against a child and would prohibit adoption placements in homes where petitioners or household members have certain felony convictions or are subject to the sex offender registry. The bill would directly affect surrogacy participants, prospective adoptive parents, and household members considered during placement screening.
The bill appears to have been received positively and with strong bipartisan or at least broad legislative support. It advanced through committee unanimously and passed the House 68-0, suggesting the child-safety purpose was not controversial in the recorded votes. The limited committee transcript provided contains no substantive debate, which also points to a generally favorable reception.
The bill’s likely area of contention is the breadth of its exclusion criteria. It bars intended parents with convictions for crimes against a child and prohibits adoption placements where petitioners or household members have certain felony convictions, including violent offenses and some recent non-child-related offenses. The categorical prohibition involving sex offenders and people living with them may also be viewed as expansive. That said, the provided record does not show organized opposition or specific objections from legislators.