Starting today, Dane County residents will be able to officially register their domestic partnerships. The domestic partnership registry comes as a result of passing Ordinance Amendment 13 in September and will require any companies working for the county to offer health benefits to employees and their domestic partner. A domestic partnership is defined as any two people in a committed relationship for at least 90 days.
As Dane County already offered domestic partnerships to its own employees, implementing this registry proves another positive measure for Dane County to fairly serve its citizens. Despite the notable progress Dane County has made, the UW System and the state of Wisconsin have noticeably stood still on the issue. It is time for both to get serious about the issue of domestic partner benefits.
The university's lack of domestic-partner benefits puts it at the bottom of the pack not only in comparison to Dane County, but peer institutions as well. UW-Madison stands alone as the only Big Ten University to ban domestic-partner benefits. The University of Michigan, for instance, implemented domestic-partner benefits for its faculty as far back as 1996. Failure to offer benefits has already cost UW-Madison a number of notable faculty, such as Rob Carpick from the department of engineering physics, who left in August 2007 due to the lack of benefits at UW-Madison for Cornell University, where he has since brought in millions in grants.
Furthermore, a number of important faces in Wisconsin are members of the Gay community. Be it Tammy Baldwin, Mark Pocan, or Carolyn Biddy"" Martin, the state must follow Dane County's example and at least allow UW-Madison to offer domestic partner benefits for its faculty. The loss of talented staff who bring money to the university, like Carpick, cannot continue given the state's dire financial circumstances. If the state argues that implementing benefits are too expensive, hiring new and equally talented staff will only prove more expensive.
When the legislature meets to make the 2009 state budget, Doyle will yet again foster discussion on domestic partner benefits. This cannot prove to be simply discussion, though. With liberal control of the senate, domestic partner benefits should be passed to ensure UW-Madison maintains its competitive edge. Dane County - specifically Madison - is often considered the sequestered minority in Wisconsin, but this can't be the case. Domestic partner benefits are a must.
