Background:

The Governor proposed establishing a domestic partnership registry and extending to domestic partners many of the rights married partners have. The provisions set criteria to form a domestic partnership and specified their rights such as with estates, visitations at hospitals and nursing homes, inclusion in certain notifications to family members and the Family Medical Leave Act.

Outcome:

The provisions were enacted into law in the budget despite inclusion by the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau as one of dozens of non-fiscal policy items.