Utah Senate considers bill granting some rights to unmarried partners

A story published today in the Salt Lake Tribune reports that Controversial legislation that would grant some marriage-like rights to unmarried adults sailed through a Senate committee on Friday without a single opposing comment.

In fact, Republican Majority Leader Peter Knudson made the motion to pass it and called it "a fine piece of legislation."

Senate Bill 89 would allow two adults - be it a same-sex couple or a grandmother and granddaughter - to register with the state Health Department and check which benefits they want, including hospital visitation privileges and inheritance.

The bill comes less than three months after voters overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage and restrict benefits in any "domestic union" outside marriage.

But Sen. Greg Bell, R-Fruit Heights, says his bill is not in response to that amendment and adds he is not trying to undermine what the voters wanted. But he says the legislation covers a part of Utah's population that can't get married but deserves some of those same benefits.

Republican Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. campaigned on the issue of such benefits and his legislative liaison, Mike Mower, sat in the audience for the committee hearing.

Knudson says he hopes the bill gets a similar welcome in the Senate. "This is a very sensitive and well-thought out piece of legislation," he said.

In addition to granting hospital-visitation rights and inheritance benefits to those who register for reciprocal rights, the bill would allow them to make organ-donation decisions, make funeral arrangements and also make emergency medical choices for the other person.

Jane Marquardt, chairwoman of the board for Equality Utah, an advocacy group for gays and lesbians, called Friday's committee hearing an "excellent start."

She told the Senate Health and Human Services Committee that the bill is "reasonable and fair" and doesn't undo anything in Amendment 3.

"SB89 is not a gay-marriage-by-another-name bill," Marquardt said. "It is not a civil union bill. SB89, with its five guaranteed rights, in no way approaches the more than 1,200 rights and responsibilities that automatically accompany traditional marriage."

Sen. Allen Christensen, R-North Ogden, questioned what those who seek such rights would be called. "Partners?" he asked. No, responded Bell. "I don't want to create a new relationship. I just want to create legal rights."