Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
SB 651 (Leno)
Hearing Date: 05/16/2011
Amended: 04/25/2011
Consultant: Jolie Onodera
Policy Vote: Judiciary 3-2
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BILL SUMMARY: SB 651 would eliminate the requirement that domestic partners have
a common residence in order to establish a registered domestic partnership (RDP).
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
Fund
Secretary of State registration Minor, absorbable one-time costs
General
Income tax revenue loss
Unknown; potentially significant
revenue loss in excess of $110 - $825
per one percent increase in RDPs
General
Health benefits for increased
enrollees
Unknown; potentially significant costs
of $550 per 100 new RDPs
General
Unemployment insurance
Minor, absorbable costs annually
Special*
*Unemployment Fund
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STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Under existing law, in order to register as a domestic partnership with the Secretary of
State, two people must 1) have a common residence; 2) not be married to someone
else or be a member of another domestic partnership; 3) not be related by blood in a
way that would prevent them from being married to each other in this state; 4) be at
least 18 years of age; 5) be members of the same sex, or if members of the opposite
sex, one or both persons must be over the age of 62; and, 6) both persons must be
capable of consenting to the domestic partnership. This bill would eliminate an existing
difference between domestic partners and married spouses by eliminating the
requirement that domestic partners have a common residence.
By removing this existing requirement, this bill would expand the number of persons
who may establish and register a domestic partnership, and extends the legal rights and
economic benefits of domestic partners. The Secretary of State indicates there are
110,498 individuals registered as domestic partners, based on 55,249 RDP filings. It is
unknown how many additional RDPs will result due to the provisions of this bill as data
is not collected by the Secretary of State for those individuals who have previously been
denied due to the common residency requirement or have not applied due to the
existing registration requirements. However, even a one percent increase in RPDs
would represent approximately 1,100 individuals or 550 RDP filings. The Secretary of
SB 651 (Leno)
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State indicates minor and absorbable costs to revise the RDP filing form and update the
agency website. The Secretary of State has not identified any cost savings as a result of
this proposed change in eligibility criteria.
Several domestic partnership laws enacted in prior years granted domestic partners
additional rights and benefits in order to achieve parity between marriage and domestic
partnerships in California. AB 26 (Migden) 1999 created the official domestic
partnership registry and among other things, granted health benefits to domestic
partners of state employees. By increasing the number of potential registered domestic
partnerships could result in increased health benefit costs to the state of an unknown
amount. The Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) has indicated for any
employee who adds a spouse or domestic partner to his or her health plan would cost
$5,500 more annually in health benefits and an unknown amount for retiree and
survivor’s health benefits as afforded by the state. It is unknown how many of the new
RDP filings would have a member employed by the state, but every 100 applicable new
RDP filings would result in $550,000 annually in increased health benefits.
SB 1827 (Migden) 2006 created the State Income Tax Equity Act which allowed
registered domestic partners to file joint income taxes in order to receive the same
financial protection afforded to married couples. According to the Franchise Tax Board,
the average income tax benefit for married filing jointly versus those filing as single or
head of household could range from $200 to $1,500 per year depending on the income
levels of each individual. For every one percent increase in registered domestic
partnerships who so choose to file could result in income tax revenue loss of up to
$110,000 to $825,000 annually. Additional taxpayer benefits extended to RDP and
RDP's dependents including the exclusion from gross income for specified medical
expenses and health insurance benefits could result in additional lost tax revenue of an
unknown, but potentially significant amount.
The Employment Development Department indicates that although there would likely be
some increase in unemployment insurance (UI) claims due to more individuals meeting
the requirements for a valid domestic partnership, any increase would likely be very
minor. Less than one percent of all UI benefit eligibility issues adjudicated involve an
individual who quit due to domestic reasons, which includes quitting work to move with
a spouse, imminent spouse, registered domestic partner, or imminent registered
domestic partner, as well as other circumstances such as lack of child care or caring for
an ill family member. It is not anticipated that this bill would result in a significant
increase in UI claims.