From Deseret News archives:
Senate kills bill on unmarried benefits
Following the 18-10 vote against his proposed "Mutual Dependence Benefits Contract," Sen. Greg Bell, R-Fruit Heights, said the measure is dead for now.
"Some of the very conservative groups drew a line in the sand and said this was a gay bill," Bell said. "The perception out there was greater than the reality."
Before the vote, Bell asked senators to consider SB89 independently of Amendment 3, a voter-approved state constitutional amendment that bans same-sex marriage and prevents giving any other "domestic union" the same or "substantially equivalent legal effect" as marriage.
He introduced an amendment that clarified the measure was not meant to create a marriage-like relationship.
"Because we have Amendment 3 in place, we may safely address issues such as SB89," Bell told lawmakers. "It does not mention same-sex marriage, it does not apply to same-sex marriage."
However, Sen. Bill Hickman, R-St. George, said he didn't see how the bill could be separated from Amendment 3.
"The folks that I represent passed Amendment 3 overwhelmingly, as did the citizens of this state," he said. "We don't want to go back and say, 'I agree with that, it's a great amendment. However, we have to tweak it a little bit with law.' "
Other lawmakers who opposed the measure said the benefits that would have been provided by the contract are already available individually. Bell acknowledged that but pointed to the expense of hiring an attorney.
In his vote against the measure, Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem, stressed that SB89 is allowable under Amendment 3.
Michael Mower, spokesman for Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., said, "we're disappointed." He said the governor had supported the measure, which gained the support of only two GOP lawmakers besides Bell — Sens. Peter Knudson of Brigham City and Carlene Walker of Salt Lake.
The bill would have provided for a contract, registered with the state Department of Heath, granting the right to visit a partner in the hospital, make informed consent medical decisions, dispose of a dead partner's remains and make organ donation decisions, and give joint tenancy rights to property acquired while under the contract.
Any two unmarried adults who can't legally marry would have qualified for the contract.
"Some of those persons may have a sexual relationship, some may not. It is irrelevant," Bell said. "This bill has been characterized by some in media as a gay rights issue. It is not."
Before Tuesday's vote, the Senate GOP caucus heard from marriage law attorneys Monte Stewart and Bill Duncan of the Marriage Law Foundation.
