Birth Hope Adoption Agency, Inc. v. Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System

Birth Hope Adoption Agency, Inc., an adoption and child placement agency licensed by the State of Arizona, brought this action seeking a declaration that Ariz. Rev.Stat. § 8-548.07 violates the Commerce Clause. Section 8-548.07 requires out-of-state persons who adopt children from Arizona to reimburse the State of Arizona for the full cost of prenatal care and delivery of the adopted child when such costs have been paid by the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (“AHCCCS”). The district court granted summary judgment in favor of AHCCCS on the ground that the state seeks reimbursement of the same costs from in-state adoptive parents under Ariz.Rev.Stat. § 36-2903.G. We reverse and remand for entry of summary judgment in favor of Birth Hope Adoption Agency.

FACTS AND PRIOR PROCEEDINGS

The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (the Compact), which has been adopted by all 50 states, governs placement of children in adoptive homes among the signatory states. The Compact is codified in Arizona at Ariz.Rev.Stat. § 8-548 et seq. In 1995, the State of Arizona passed Senate Bill 1167, which added a provision to the Compact, Ariz. Rev.Stat. § 8-548.07. The new provision…