BILL NUMBER: SB 651 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 9, 2011
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 8, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 2, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 22, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 25, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 31, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Senator Leno
(Coauthors: Senators De León, Pavley, and Yee)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Ammiano, Block, Blumenfield, Chesbro,
Gordon, Huffman, Ma, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, and Skinner)
FEBRUARY 18, 2011
An act to amend Sections 297 and 2320 of, and to add Sections
297.1 and 298.7 to, the Family Code, relating to family law.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 651, Leno. Family law: domestic partnerships.
Existing law provides that 2 unmarried, unrelated adults who have
chosen to share one another's lives in an intimate and committed
relationship of mutual caring may establish a domestic partnership by
filing a declaration with the Secretary of State if certain
requirements are met, including that both persons have a common
residence and that both persons are at least 18 years of age.
Existing law authorizes 2 unmarried persons, not minors, who have
been living together as husband and wife to obtain a confidential
marriage license, as specified.
This bill would eliminate the requirement that domestic partners
have a common residence. This bill would also permit a person who is
under 18 years of age who otherwise meets the requirements for
establishing a domestic partnership to do so upon obtaining a court
order that provides that authority to the underage person. The bill
would also provide for the consent of the underage person's parent or
guardian, except as specified, and would require that the court
order and the written consent be filed with the court clerk and
submitted to the Secretary of State with a Declaration of Domestic
Partnership. The bill would also require the Secretary of State to
establish a process by which 2 persons could enter into a
confidential domestic partnership and maintain each confidential
Declaration of Domestic Partnership, as specified, and permit the
Secretary of State to charge a reasonable fee in this regard.
Existing law prohibits a judgment of dissolution of marriage from
being entered unless one of the parties to the marriage has been a
resident of this state for 6 months and of the county in which the
proceeding is filed for 3 months before the filing of the petition.
This bill would authorize a judgment for dissolution, nullity, or
legal separation of a marriage between persons of the same sex to be
entered if the marriage was entered in California and neither party
to the marriage resides in a jurisdiction that will dissolve the
marriage.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 297 of the Family Code is amended to read:
297. (a) Domestic partners are two adults who have chosen to
share one another's lives in an intimate and committed relationship
of mutual caring.
(b) A domestic partnership shall be established in California when
both persons file a Declaration of Domestic Partnership with the
Secretary of State pursuant to this division, and, at the time of
filing, all of the following requirements are met:
(1) Neither person is married to someone else or is a member of
another domestic partnership with someone else that has not been
terminated, dissolved, or adjudged a nullity.
(2) The two persons are not related by blood in a way that would
prevent them from being married to each other in this state.
(3) Both persons are at least 18 years of age, except as provided
in Section 297.1.
(4) Either of the following:
(A) Both persons are members of the same sex.
(B) One or both of the persons meet the eligibility criteria under
Title II of the Social Security Act as defined in Section 402(a) of
Title 42 of the United States Code for old-age insurance benefits or
Title XVI of the Social Security Act as defined in Section 1381 of
Title 42 of the United States Code for aged individuals.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, persons of
opposite sexes may not constitute a domestic partnership unless one
or both of the persons are over 62 years of age.
(5) Both persons are capable of consenting to the domestic
partnership.
SEC. 2. Section 297.1 is added to the Family Code, to read:
297.1. (a) A person under 18 years of age who, together with the
person with whom he or she proposes to establish a domestic
partnership, otherwise meets the requirements for a domestic
partnership other than the requirement of being at least 18 years of
age, is capable of consenting to and establishing a domestic
partnership upon obtaining a court order granting permission to the
underage person or persons to establish a domestic partnership.
(b) (1) The court order and written consent of the parents of each
person under 18 years of age or of one of the parents or the
guardian of each person under 18 years of age, except as provided in
paragraph (2), shall be filed with the clerk of the court, and a
certified copy of the order shall be filed with the Secretary of
State with the Declaration of Domestic Partnership.
(2) If it appears to the satisfaction of the court by application
of a person under 18 years of age that the person requires a written
consent to establish a domestic partnership and that the minor has no
parent or guardian, or has no parent or guardian capable of
consenting, the court may make an order consenting to establishing
the domestic partnership. The order shall be filed with the clerk of
the court and a certified copy of the order shall be filed with the
Secretary of State with the Declaration of Domestic Partnership.
SEC. 3. Section 298.7 is added to the Family Code, to read:
298.7. The Secretary of State shall establish a process by which
two persons, who have been living together as domestic partners and
who meet the requirements of paragraphs (1) to (5), inclusive, of
subdivision (b) of Section 297, may enter into a confidential
domestic partnership. This process shall do all of the following:
(a) Maintain each confidential Declaration of Domestic Partnership
as a permanent record that is not open to public inspection except
upon order of the court issued upon a showing of good cause.
(b) Authorize the Secretary of State to charge a reasonable fee to
offset costs directly connected with maintaining confidentiality of
a Declaration of Domestic Partnership.
SEC. 4. Section 2320 of the Family Code is amended to read:
2320. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), a judgment of
dissolution of marriage may not be entered unless one of the parties
to the marriage has been a resident of this state for six months and
of the county in which the proceeding is filed for three months next
preceding the filing of the petition.
(b) (1) A judgment for dissolution, nullity, or legal separation
of a marriage between persons of the same sex may be entered, even if
neither spouse is a resident of, or maintains a domicile in, this
state at the time the proceedings are filed, if the following apply:
(A) The marriage was entered in California.
(B) Neither party to the marriage resides in a jurisdiction that
will dissolve the marriage. If the jurisdiction does not recognize
the marriage, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that the
jurisdiction will not dissolve the marriage.
(2) For the purposes of this subdivision, the superior court in
the county where the marriage was entered shall be the proper court
for the proceeding. The dissolution, nullity, or legal separation
shall be adjudicated in accordance with California law.