The Dane County Board of Supervisors voted Thursday to approve an ordinance creating a domestic partnership registry and requiring contractors who do business with the county to provide equal benefits for domestic partners.
Under the new ordinance, effective Dec. 1 of this year, same-sex and other unmarried couples in Dane County can receive insurance rights for their partner. In order to register for a domestic partnership, citizens must be committed relationship for at least 90 days, live in the same residence and take responsibility for each other's welfare.
Additionally, companies who contract with the county to provide services are required to grant domestic partners the same insurance benefits offered to married employees. District 27 Supervisor Kyle Richmond said these contractors involve a wide range of companies working for the county.
We mean anybody from those who provide services for the developmentally disabled to someone who might be doing repaving [of] a county road,"" Richmond said.
Richmond said similar ordinances exist in Minneapolis and San Francisco and Dane County is the first county municipality in Wisconsin to extend domestic partner benefits to contracting companies. Richmond said the additional finances needed to cover partner benefits would be small - about a 1 percent increase in cost to employers.
The majority of debate about the ordinance came from labor organization representatives who pointed out that many contracts extend to other areas of the state outside of Dane County.
Scott Vaughn, executive director of the Building and Construction Trades Council of South Central Wisconsin, suggested collective bargaining be utilized to combat the ""one-size-fits-all"" requirement of all contractors to offer the benefits if additional business is conducted outside of Dane County. Supervisors, however, rejected a proposed amendment allowing the negotiations.
The domestic partner benefits ordinance received support from a majority of the board, garnering the sponsorship of 25 out of 37 supervisors. County Board chair Scott McDonell said the ordinance goes beyond the financial benefits of a relationship and reflects on Dane County's principles.
""This isn't about health insurance,"" McDonell said. ""This is about treating our citizens equally and fairly.
