Last month someone asked what's going on in Baltimore. This article
is from the January 1994 issue of the _Baltimore Alternative_. It is
reproduced without permission. (By the way, I have lived here seven
years and still don't understand who the Board of Estimates are; they
are not elected, but seem quite powerful.)
						- Van Dixon

Gay City Employees Win
Domestic Partnership Benefits

BY MARIA HAMMONTREE
THE ALTERNATIVE
   Baltimore closed 1993 with passage of a  new
policy by Mayor Kurt Schmoke and the  Board  of
Estimates -- The Gay  and   Lesbian    Employee
Domestic     Partner      Benefits      Program
Addendum -- and  a  word  of  caution from  the
Mayor to  supporters  of  legislation currently
under  consideration  by  the  Baltimore   City
Council.  Advocates  for  domestic  partnership
rights are counting the  weeks  to  passage  of
the bill.
   Jesse  Hoskins,  Director   of   the   Civil
Service     Commission,     introduced      the
Mayor's   administrative   procedure   to   the
Board  of  Estimates  on   December   15.   His
presentation  included  a   report   from   the
Department of Finance.
   Schmoke later explained  to  reporters  that
a  minimal  impact  was  expected;  he  pointed
out that Seattle, a city comparable in  popula-
tion and economic  resources,  used  a  broader
definition of domestic  partnership  and  expe-
rienced  a  2  percent  increase  in   benefits
costs.
   City  Council  President  Mary  Pat   Clarke
requested that other  non-traditional  families
be included in the new policy's  definition  of
partnership.  The  health  benefits  under  the
new  policy  are  extended  only   to  non-tra-
tional  families  consisting  of  "two   adults
who have chosen to  share  each  other's  lives
in  an  intimate  and  committed  relationship"
and  are  banned  from marriage  because   they
are  the  same  sex.  Clarke  would   like   to
extend the  partnership  definition to  include
family members, such as  siblings,  parents, or
adult   children    living    at   home--people
barred  from  marriage  because  they  are  too
closely related.
   Schmoke's  response  allowed  for  a  future
expansion of  the  definition  of  partnership,
but he warned  that  Baltimore's  budget  might
not be able to bear a  more  inclusive  defini-
tion: "The broader the  category,  the  greater
the cost."
   It took only 15 minutes  for  the  Board  of
Estimates   to    approve    unanimously    the
extension of health benefits  to gay  and  les-
bian  partners  of  city  employees.  Effective
January 1,  1995,   these  partners  and  their
dependents  will  be  eligible  for  comprehen-
sive  health,  vision  care  and   prescription
drug benefits.
   Legislation   is   expected   to  pass  City
Council in  a  few  weeks that would  establish
a  Domestic Partnership   Registry.  Until such
a registry  is  created,  the  Mayor's   policy
requires  employees and   their   partners   to
prove  they  share  a  legal  residence   using
drivers'  licenses  or   voter's   registration
cards. They will also need  to  sign  an  affi-
davit stating they  share  living  expenses and
are not involved in another partnership....
   The [City Council] bill  will   establish  a
registry   for   all   Baltimoreans,   seen  as
essential  for  workers   who   are   not  City
employees  to lobby for benefits  from  private
employers. The bill will also ensure visitation
rights  in  medical  centers.  The  legislation
no longer includes visitation rights in lock-up
facilities  because  these  are  owned  by  the
state,  not  Baltimore City....

-- Article truncated to respect copyright (and to remove the dull parts).