Legislation

Two major bills will be in play this year to support and legitimize the relationships of same-sex couples: one will allow them to marry, the other to divorce.

Despite efforts by the ACLU and Marriage Equality R.I., no action was taken on Affiliate legislation specifying that the Family Court has jurisdiction to grant divorces to validly-married same-sex couples.

A bill that would have allowed domestic partners of state employees access to their partners’ pensions, thus providing further security, stability and protections for same-sex families in Rhode Island, overwhelmingly passed the General Assembly, but was vetoed by the governor.

The legislature overwhelmingly approved an ACLU bill specifying that domestic partner health insurance benefits are not taxable income for state income tax purposes, and explicitly entitling state employees and their partners to the protections of COBRA and to the state’s Family Medical Leave Act.

Although no vote was taken in committee this year, support for same-sex marriage legislation continued to grow.

On a related front, a bill providing for death benefits to the domestic partners of police officers or firefighters who die in the line of duty appears close to passage.