Boston Mayor Tom Menino signed the Family Registration Act on Thursday, Dec. 16 after it passed the City Council the previous day by a vote of 8 to 3. The Dec. 15th City Council meeting was the last one for outgoing Councilor David Scondras, the chief sponsor of the bill. Some intense negotiations with the Mayor led to this version of the bill which the mayor had agreed to sign before it was passed. The Family Registration Act provides for registration of domestic partnerships and includes registering dependents of a domestic partnership. It provides hospital and prison visitation rights and access to school records. It also mandates a mayoral study commission on the issue of extending family benefits to the domestic partners of city employees. The commission is due to report by June 30, 1994. Personally, as someone who has worked on this issue in Boston for three years, I am extremely pleased that the Mayor was willing to work with us to create a form of the bill that he could support. While registration is not everything, it is a significant step forward. Registration is open to non-residents and can be used to gain access to loved ones in any hospital in the city. Since Boston contains many of the major New England regional hospitals, this is a step forward for the region as well as for Boston. Scott, I haven't seen the final form yet but I think this is right code for your list: A, B, c, R, v. I'll send you an update if it needs correcting.