BILL NUMBER: AB 1059 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 23, 1997
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 21, 1997
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 10, 1997
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Migden
FEBRUARY 27, 1997
An act to add Division 2.5 (commencing with Section 297)
to the Family Code, to add Section 1374.58 to the Health
and Safety Code, and to add Section 10121.7 to the Insurance Code,
relating to domestic partners.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1059, as amended, Migden. Domestic partners.
(1) Existing law sets forth the requirements of a valid marriage,
and specifies the rights and obligations of spouses during marriage.
This bill would define "domestic partners" and provide for the
registration of domestic partnerships with the Secretary of State.
The bill would also specify procedures for the termination of
domestic partnerships. The bill would prohibit a person who has filed
a Declaration of Domestic Partnership from filing a new declaration
until at least 6 months has elapsed from the date that a Notice of
Termination of Domestic Partnership was filed with the Secretary of
State in connection with the termination of the most recent domestic
partnership, except where the previous domestic partnership ended
because one of the partners died.
The bill would require the Secretary of State to prepare forms for
the registration and termination of domestic partnerships, and
distribute these forms to each county clerk. The bill would require
the Secretary of State to establish by regulation and charge fees for
processing these forms. The bill would require these forms to be
available to the public at the office of the Secretary of State and
each county clerk. By increasing the duties of the county clerk, the
bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
This bill would provide that any domestic partnership entered into
outside of this state, which would be valid by the laws of the
jurisdiction under which the partnership was created, shall be valid
in this state.
(2) Existing
Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of
health care service plans administered by the Commissioner of
Corporations. Under existing law, a willful violation of any of
these provisions is punishable as either a felony or a misdemeanor.
Existing law also provides for the regulation of policies of
disability insurance administered by the Insurance Commissioner.
Existing law requires that health care service plans and
disability insurers provide coverage for certain benefits and
services.
This bill would require a health care service plan and a policy of
disability insurance that offers hospital, medical, or surgical
benefits on a group basis to offer coverage to an employer or
association for a domestic partner of an employee, subscriber, or
other person entitled to elect coverage to the same extent as
provided to a dependent of an employee, subscriber, or that other
person. The bill would also require a health care service plan or a
disability insurer that provides hospital, medical, or surgical
benefits for employees, subscribers, or other persons entitled to
elect coverage and their dependents to enroll as a dependent, upon
application by the employer or group administrator, a domestic
partner of the employee, subscriber, or that other person.
Since a willful violation of the provisions applicable to health
care service plans is a crime, this bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
(3) The
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund
to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide
and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed
$1,000,000.
This bill would provide that, with regard to certain mandates, no
reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that,
if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains
costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall
be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Division 2.5 (commencing with Section 297) is added to
the Family Code, to read:
DIVISION 2.5. DOMESTIC PARTNER REGISTRATION
PART 1. DEFINITIONS
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 when all of the
following requirements are met:
(1) Both persons have a common residence.
(2) Both persons agree to be jointly responsible for each other's
basic living expenses during the domestic partnership.
(3) Neither person is married or a member of another domestic
partnership.
(4) The two persons are not related by blood in a way which would
prevent them from being married to each other in this state.
(5) Both persons are at least 18 years of age.
(6) Both file a Declaration of Domestic Partnership with the
Secretary of State pursuant to this division.
(c) "Have a common residence" means that two people are
cohabitants. It is not necessary that the legal right to possess the
common residence be in both of their names. Two people are
cohabitants even if one or both have additional residences. Domestic
partners do not cease to be cohabitants if one leaves the common
residence but intends to return.
(d) "Basic living expenses" means food and shelter. It also means
any other cost, such as medical care, if some or all of the cost is
paid as a benefit because a person is another person's domestic
partner.
(e) "Joint responsibility" means that each partner agrees to
provide for the other partner's basic living expenses if the partner
is unable to provide for herself or himself. Anyone to whom these
expenses are owed may enforce this responsibility.
PART 2. REGISTRATION
298. (a) The Secretary of State shall prepare forms entitled
"Declaration of Domestic Partnership" and "Notice of Termination of
Domestic Partnership" to meet the requirements of this division.
These forms shall require the signature and seal of an acknowledgment
by a notary public to be binding and valid.
(b) (1) The Secretary of State shall distribute these forms to
each county clerk. These forms shall be available to the public at
the office of the Secretary of State and each county clerk.
(2) The Secretary of State shall, by regulation, establish fees
for the actual costs of processing each of these forms, and shall
charge these fees to persons filing the forms.
(c) The Declaration of Domestic Partnership shall require each
person who wants to become a domestic partner to (1) state that he or
she meets the requirements of Section 297 at the time the form is
signed, (2) provide a mailing address, (3) sign the form under
penalty of perjury, and (4) have a notary public notarize his or her
signature.
298.5. (a) Two persons desiring to become domestic partners may
complete and file a Declaration of Domestic Partnership with the
Secretary of State.
(b) No person who has filed a Declaration of Domestic Partnership
may file a new Declaration of Domestic Partnership until at least six
months after the date that a Notice of Termination of Domestic
Partnership was filed with the Secretary of State pursuant to
subdivision (b) of Section 299 in connection with the termination of
the most recent domestic partnership. This prohibition does not
apply if the previous domestic partnership ended because one of the
partners died.
PART 3. TERMINATION
299. (a) A domestic partnership is terminated when any one of the
following occurs:
(1) One partner gives or sends to the other partner a written
notice that he or she is terminating the partnership.
(2) One of the domestic partners dies.
(3) One of the domestic partners marries.
(4) The domestic partners no longer have a common residence.
(b) Upon termination of a domestic partnership, at least one
former partner shall file a Notice of Termination of Domestic
Partnership with the Secretary of State. The partner who files the
Notice of Termination of Domestic Partnership shall send a copy of
the notice to the last known address of the other partner.
(c) A former domestic partner who has given a copy of a
Declaration of Domestic Partnership to any third party in order to
qualify for any benefit or right shall, within 60 days of termination
of the domestic partnership, give or send to the third party, at the
last known address of the third party, written notification that the
domestic partnership has been terminated. A third party who suffers
a loss as a result of failure by the domestic partner to send this
notice shall be entitled to seek recovery from the partner who was
obligated to send it for any actual loss resulting thereby.
(d) Failure to file the Notice of Termination of Domestic
Partnership required in subdivision (b) or to provide the third party
notice required in subdivision (c) shall not delay or prevent the
termination of the domestic partnership.
PART 4. LEGAL EFFECT
299.5. (a) The obligations that two people have to each other as
a result of creating a domestic partnership are those described in
Section 297. Registration as a domestic partner under this division
shall not be evidence of, or establish, any rights existing under law
other than those expressly provided to domestic partners in this
division, Section 1374.58 of the Health and Safety Code, or Section
10121.7 of the Insurance Code.
The provisions relating to domestic partners provided in this
division, Section 1374.58 of the Health and Safety Code, and Section
10121.7 of the Insurance Code shall not diminish any right under any
other provision of law.
(b) Upon the termination of a domestic partnership, the partners,
from that time forward, shall incur none of the obligations to each
other as domestic partners that are created by this division, Section
1374.58 of the Health and Safety Code, or Section 10121.7 of the
Insurance Code.
(c) Any domestic partnership entered into outside of this state,
which would be valid by the laws of the jurisdiction under which the
partnership was created, shall be valid in this state.
SEC. 2.
SECTION 1. Section 1374.58 is added to the Health and Safety
Code, to read:
1374.58. (a) A health care service plan that offers hospital,
medical, or surgical coverage on a group basis shall offer coverage
to employers or associations for domestic partners of employees or
subscribers to the same extent as provided to dependents of employees
or subscribers.
(b) A health care service plan that provides hospital, medical, or
surgical benefits for employees or subscribers and their dependents
shall enroll as a dependent, upon application by the employer or
group administrator, a domestic partner of an employee or subscriber
in accordance with terms and conditions of the group contract that
apply generally to all dependents under the plan, including
coordination of benefits.
(c) For purposes of this section, the term "domestic partner"
shall have the same meaning as that term is used in Section 297 of
the Family Code.
SEC. 3.
SEC. 2. Section 10121.7 is added to the Insurance Code, to
read:
10121.7. (a) A disability insurer that offers hospital, medical,
or surgical coverage on a group basis shall offer coverage to
employers or associations for domestic partners of employees or other
persons entitled to elect coverage to the same extent as provided to
dependents of employees or those other persons.
(b) A disability insurer that provides hospital, medical, or
surgical benefits for employees or other persons entitled to elect
coverage and their dependents shall enroll as a dependent, upon
application by the employer or group administrator, a domestic
partner of an employee or other person entitled to elect coverage in
accordance with terms and conditions of the group contract that apply
generally to all dependents under the policy, including coordination
of benefits.
(c) For purposes of this section, the term "domestic partner"
shall have the same meaning as that term is used in Section 297 of
the Family Code.
SEC. 4.
SEC. 3. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution for
certain costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district because in that regard this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.
However, notwithstanding Section 17610 of the Government Code, if
the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains
other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies
and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7
(commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the
Government Code. If the statewide cost of the claim for
reimbursement does not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000),
reimbursement shall be made from the State Mandates Claims Fund.
Notwithstanding Section 17580 of the Government Code, unless
otherwise specified, the provisions of this act shall become
operative on the same date that the act takes effect pursuant to the
California Constitution.