Domestic partnership bill sent to governor

CARSON CITY — State senators sent a bill that would allow domestic partnerships for gay and opposite-sex couples to Gov. Jim Gibbons on Tuesday.

Legislative supporters of Senate Bill 283 plan to try to override a veto by Gov. Jim Gibbons that is sure to come, and pass the bill into law.

Sen. David Parks, D-Las Vegas, said he expects to have the votes he needs early next week when the Senate will vote whether to override the veto.

Under Parks’ bill, same- or opposite-sex couples could go to the secretary of state’s office, pay a fee and secure a domestic partnership contract that entitles them to the same rights and responsibilities as heterosexual married couples.

The bill, however, specifies these domestic partnerships or civil unions are not marriages as defined by an amendment to the state constitution. That amendment, approved by voters in 2002, specifies that only a man and a woman can marry in Nevada.

Four states allow same-sex marriages, while 10 permit domestic partnerships.

Parks’ bill passed the Senate 12-9 and the Assembly 26-14, short by two votes in each house of the two-thirds necessary to override a governor veto.

The veto override attempt would begin in the Senate. If Parks secures at least two-thirds of the votes there for his bill, then it would go to the Assembly where a similar vote would be conducted.

According to the Legislative Counsel Bureau, legislators have not overridden a veto of a governor since 1989.

During that session, they voted to override Gov. Bob Miller’s veto of a bill to give retired legislators 300 percent pension increases.

Because of the public outcry over that vote, legislators met five months later in a special legislative session during which they killed the pension increase.

The attempt to override Gibbons’ expected veto of the domestic partnership bill might be one of several faced by legislators next week. Gibbons also has vowed to veto the tax increase proposals that are making their way through the Legislature.

Under state law, the governor has five working days after receiving a bill during a legislative session to sign or veto it, or let it become law without his signature.

Gibbons said on Friday that he intends to veto the bill.

He maintains that gay couples can secure rights to allow them to make decisions on inheritances, wills and medical care through private contracts or durable powers of attorney.

While he said many of those forms are available online, witnesses testified during hearings that hiring lawyers to draw up such contracts can cost as much as $60,000.

During Tuesday’s Senate floor session, senators on a voice vote approved amendments to the bill that Parks added during hearings in the Assembly.

One amendment states that private or public companies are not required, but could voluntarily offer medical benefits to the domestic partners of their employees.

Another amendment stipulates that a ceremony to solemnize a domestic partnership is not required, although couples could choose to have one on their own.

Contact Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-697-3901.