BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2047
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2047 (Romero)
As Amended May 31, 2000
Majority vote
JUDICIARY 10-4
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|Ayes:|Kuehl, Aroner, Bock, | | |
| |Keeley, Jackson, Knox, | | |
| |Longville, Shelley, | | |
| |Steinberg, Wiggins | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Ackerman, House, | | |
| |McClintock, Robert | | |
| |Pacheco | | |
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SUMMARY : Expands the legal rights of registered domestic
partners. Specifically, this bill :
1)Allows a domestic partner the right to inherit property if one
partner dies without a will, and to be appointed as
administrator of his or her deceased partner's estate, in the
same priority position as a surviving spouse.
2)Provides that a person with legal authority to make medical
treatment decisions on behalf of a patient in a health
facility who lacks the capacity to give informed consent, as
specified, is a person designated under a valid Durable Power
of Attorney for Health Care, a guardian, a conservator, or the
patient's family members.
3)Specifies that, for purposes of determining the existence of a
person with legal authority, family members include, but are
not limited to, a patient's domestic partner, the children of
the patient's domestic partner, and the domestic partner of
the patient's parent or child.
4)Requires the treating physician to interview the patient,
review the patient's medical records, and consult with the
health facility staff, as appropriate, and family members and
friends of the patient, if any have been identified, in order
to determine the existence of a person with legal authority to
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make such treatment decisions. Requires the treating
physician to notify the health facility if, after such
investigation, no person is discovered with the legal
authority to make treatment decisions on behalf of the
patient.
5)Allows a registered domestic partner to make funeral
arrangements for, and decisions with regards to the autopsy
of, his or her partner.
6)Authorizes a domestic partner to participate fully and have
standing to appear in conservatorship proceedings and be
appointed as conservator in the same manner as the spouse of a
conservatee or proposed conservatee.
7)Revises the statutory will form to include domestic partners
in the class of beneficiaries to whom a testator may leave
assets and property.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : This bill, which is sponsored by the California
Alliance for Pride and Equality (CAPE), expands the legal rights
of registered domestic partners, as described above.
According to the 1990 census, there are approximately 500,000
unmarried couples in California, 93% of which are heterosexual
couples and 7% are same-sex couples. Of the 500,000 unmarried
couples, 35,000 are senior citizen couples who are not married
because of Social Security or other pension restrictions. Based
on the March 1998 Current Population Survey, the United States
Census Bureau found that out of 5,911,000 unmarried couples
1,674,000 were same sex couples. While the data was not sorted
for couples over the age of 62, there were 188,000 opposite sex
couples over the age of 65.
AB 26 (Migden), Chapter 588, Statutes of 1999, became
California's first domestic partnership legislation. Chapter
588 establishes the right of a domestic partner and his or her
child and the domestic partner of a patient's parent to make
hospital visits to a patient. It also authorizes the California
Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) to provide health
benefits to domestic partners of those state employees whose
bargaining units have agreed to the extended coverage, and to
domestic partners of local public agency employees whose agency
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has requested such coverage from CalPERS.
Chapter 588 narrowly defines the legal effect of creating a
domestic partnership and expressly provides that registration of
the domestic partnership does not establish any rights except
those specifically provided in the legislation, and that upon
termination of the partnership the partners shall incur none of
the obligations to each other that the bill would establish.
The recent amendments incorporate the provisions of AB 1990
(Romero), pending in the Assembly, and AB 2211 (Kuehl), pending
in the Assembly, with the exception of two provisions pertaining
to causes of action for negligent infliction of emotional
distress and wrongful death. All of the provisions of these two
bills, as well as those in this bill, were heard in policy
committee.
Analysis Prepared by : Daniel Pone / JUD. / (916) 319-2334
FN:
0005263