Senate Bill 2484

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    Florida Senate - 1999                                  SB 2484

    By Senator Jones





    40-894C-99

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to domestic partners; providing

  3         for the establishment of domestic partnerships;

  4         defining terms; providing conditions; providing

  5         for filing of forms with the Secretary of

  6         State; providing contents of such forms;

  7         authorizing the Secretary of State to create

  8         such forms by rule and to charge fees

  9         associated with the filing of such forms;

10         providing procedures for terminating a domestic

11         partnership; providing legal effect of such

12         partnerships; requiring health care facilities

13         to provide visitation rights to a patient's

14         domestic partner and certain other specified

15         persons; requiring group health care service

16         plans and group disability insurance policies

17         that provide certain hospital, medical, or

18         surgical expense benefits for employees or

19         subscribers to provide benefits to such

20         person's domestic partner and other specified

21         persons; providing an effective date.

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23  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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25         Section 1.  Domestic partners; relationship.--A valid

26  domestic partnership may be registered by two adults who meet

27  the following requirements:

28         (1)  Each person is at least 18 years old and competent

29  to contract;

30         (2)  Neither person is married nor a partner to another

31  domestic partnership relationship;

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    Florida Senate - 1999                                  SB 2484
    40-894C-99




  1         (3)  Consent of either person to the domestic

  2  partnership relationship has not been obtained by force,

  3  duress, or fraud;

  4         (4)  Each person agrees to be jointly responsible for

  5  each other's basic food and shelter; and

  6         (5)  Both persons file a declaration of domestic

  7  partnership with the Secretary of State.

  8         Section 2.  Definitions.--As used in this act, the

  9  term:

10         (1)  "Basic living expenses" means costs of food and

11  shelter.

12         (2)  "Joint responsibility" means that each partner

13  mutually agrees to provide for the other partner's basic

14  living expenses while the domestic partnership is in effect,

15  except that domestic partners need not contribute equally or

16  jointly to such basic living expenses.

17         Section 3.  Registration.--

18         (1)  The Secretary of State shall prepare forms

19  entitled "Declaration of Domestic Partnership" and "Notice of

20  Termination of Domestic Partnership" to meet the requirements

21  of this act. These forms must require the signature and seal

22  of an acknowledgment by a notary public to be binding and

23  valid.

24         (2)  The Secretary of State shall distribute these

25  forms to each county clerk. These forms must be available to

26  the public at the office of the Secretary of State and each

27  county clerk.

28         (3)  The Secretary of State shall, by rule, establish

29  fees for the actual costs of processing each of these forms

30  and shall charge these fees to persons filing the forms.

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    Florida Senate - 1999                                  SB 2484
    40-894C-99




  1         (4)  The Declaration of Domestic Partnership form must

  2  require each person who seeks to become a domestic partner to:

  3         (a)  State that he or she meets the requirements of

  4  this act at the time the form is signed;

  5         (b)  Provide his or her mailing address;

  6         (c)  Sign the form under penalty of perjury; and

  7         (d)  Have a notary public notarize his or her

  8  signature.

  9         Section 4.  Filing.--

10         (1)  Two persons seeking to become domestic partners

11  may complete and file a Declaration of Domestic Partnership

12  with the Secretary of State.

13         (2)  No person who has filed a Declaration of Domestic

14  Partnership may file a new Declaration of Domestic Partnership

15  until at least 180 days after the date that a Notice of

16  Termination of Domestic Partnership was filed with Secretary

17  of State under this act in connection with the termination of

18  the most recent domestic partnership. This prohibition does

19  not apply if the previous domestic partnership ended because

20  one of the partners died.

21         Section 5.  Termination.--

22         (1)  Either partner to a registered domestic

23  partnership may terminate such partnership by filing a

24  notarized declaration of termination of domestic partnership

25  with the Secretary of State. Upon the payment of the required

26  fee, the Secretary of State shall file the declaration and

27  issue a certificate of termination of domestic partnership to

28  each partner. The termination shall become effective 30 days

29  from the date the certificate of termination is issued.

30         (2)  If any partner to a domestic partnership enters

31  into a legal marriage, the domestic partnership shall

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    Florida Senate - 1999                                  SB 2484
    40-894C-99




  1  terminate automatically, and all rights, benefits, and

  2  entitlements thereunder shall cease as of the effective date

  3  of the marriage. The marrying domestic partner shall file a

  4  declaration terminating the domestic partnership within 10

  5  days after entering into a legal marriage.

  6         (3)  The death of either domestic partner shall

  7  automatically terminate the domestic partnership.

  8         Section 6.  Legal effect.--

  9         (1)  The obligations that two people have to each other

10  as a result of creating a domestic partnership are those

11  described in section 1. Registration as a domestic partner

12  under this act is not evidence of and does not establish any

13  rights existing under law other than those expressly provided

14  to domestic partners in this act. The provisions relating to

15  domestic partners provided in this act, shall not diminish any

16  right under any other provision of law.

17         (2)  Upon the termination of a domestic partnership,

18  the partners, from that time forward, incur none of the

19  obligations to each other as domestic partners that are

20  created by this act.

21         (3)  Any domestic partnership entered into outside this

22  state which is valid under the laws of the jurisdiction under

23  which the partnership was created is valid in this state.

24         Section 7.  Visitation.--

25         (1)  A health care facility shall allow a patient's

26  domestic partner, the children of the patient's domestic

27  partner, and the domestic partner of the patient's parent or

28  child to visit, unless one of the following is met:

29         (a)  No visitors are allowed;

30         (b)  The facility reasonably determines that the

31  presence of a particular visitor would endanger the health or

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    Florida Senate - 1999                                  SB 2484
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  1  safety of a patient, member of the health care facility staff,

  2  or other visitor to the health care facility, or would

  3  significantly disrupt the operations of a facility; or

  4         (c)  The patient has indicated to health care facility

  5  staff that the patient does not want this person to visit.

  6         (2)  This section does not prohibit a health care

  7  facility from otherwise establishing reasonable restrictions

  8  upon visitation, including restrictions on the hours of

  9  visitation and number of visitors.

10         Section 8.  Group health care.--

11         (1)  A group health care service plan that provides

12  hospital, medical, or surgical expense benefits for employees

13  or subscribers and their dependents shall provide eligibility

14  or benefits to the domestic partner of an employee or

15  subscriber to the same extent, and subject to the same terms

16  and conditions, as provided to a dependent of the employee or

17  subscriber.

18         (2)  A health care service plan that provides hospital,

19  medical, or surgical expense benefits for employees or

20  subscribers and their dependents shall enroll as a dependent,

21  upon application by the employer or group administrator, a

22  domestic partner of an employee or subscriber at any time the

23  employee or subscriber applies for enrollment to the employer

24  or group administrator.

25         Section 9.  Insurance.--

26         (1)  A policy of group disability insurance that

27  provides hospital, medical, or surgical expense benefits for

28  employees, insureds, or policyholders and their dependents

29  shall provide eligibility and benefits to the domestic partner

30  of an employee, insured, or policyholder to the same extent,

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    Florida Senate - 1999                                  SB 2484
    40-894C-99




  1  and subject to the same terms and conditions, as provided to a

  2  dependent of the employee, insured, or policyholder.

  3         (2)  Each policy of group disability insurance that

  4  provides hospital, medical, or surgical expense benefits for

  5  employees, insureds, or policyholders and their dependents

  6  shall enroll as a dependent, upon application by the employer

  7  or group administrator, a domestic partner of the employee,

  8  insured, or policyholder when that employee, insured, or

  9  policyholder at any time applies for enrollment to the

10  employer or group administrator.

11         Section 10.  Severability.--If any provision of this

12  act or the application thereof to any person or circumstance

13  is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other

14  provisions or applications of the act which can be given

15  effect without the invalid provision or application, and to

16  this end the provisions of this act are declared severable.

17         Section 11.  This act shall take effect July 1, 1999.

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19            *****************************************

20                          SENATE SUMMARY

21    Provides for the establishment of domestic partnerships.
      Provides conditions for the creation of such
22    partnerships. Provides definitions. Provides for filing
      of forms with the Secretary of State and the contents of
23    such forms. Authorizes the Secretary of State to create
      such forms by rule and to charge fees associated with the
24    filing of such forms. Provides procedures for termination
      of a domestic partnership. Provides legal effect of such
25    partnerships. Requires health care facilities to provide
      visitation rights to a patient's domestic partner and
26    certain other specified persons. Requires group health
      care service plans and group disability insurance
27    policies that provide certain hospital, medical, or
      surgical expense benefits for employees or subscribers to
28    provide benefits to such person's domestic partner and
      other specified persons.
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