3-30-06

Nassau County Legislator Jeffrey Toback (D-Oceanside), Presiding Officer Judy Jacobs (Woodbury), Legislator Craig Johnson (D-Port Washington) and members of the Majority today proposed a Domestic Partner Registry for Nassau County that would allow people in committed relationships who share common households to be able to register and document those relationships formally with the County Clerk’s Office.

“This law will give domestic partners the same right to document their relationships as those couples now have in New York City, Westchester and in more than 60 localities in this country,” said Legislator Toback.

The registry, which will be open to both same-sex and opposite-sex couples, will provide committed couples a certified record of their relationship. While conferring no outright benefits, this official documentation can be used to secure other basic rights, such as visiting a sick partner in the hospital or making funeral arrangements.

A domestic partnership may be registered with the Nassau County Clerk by two people who meet all the following conditions: They must be at least 18 years of age or older, not married, or related to each other; share a common household; in a close, committed, financially interdependent relationship and intend to remain in such relationship and this domestic partnership.

Barbara Bernstein, Executive Director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, Nassau Chapter stated: “The Nassau Chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union applauds the legislature’s proposal to recognize the legitimacy of domestic partnerships by allowing adults in long-term, committed relationships, those who share their families and their finances and their future, to announce their commitment with the county’s seal of approval.”

“The Domestic Partner Registry is a significant step for human rights in Nassau County,” said Steve Talan of the Nassau County Gay and Lesbian Democrats.

“Nassau County is not blazing a radical course by seeking to create a domestic partner registry,” said Ross Levi, Empire State Pride Agenda Director of Public Policy. “On the contrary, it will be in good company, joining such localities as: Westchester County; the cities of Albany, New York, Rochester and Ithaca; and the towns of Southampton and East Hampton…”

Domestic partner registries exist in more than 60 localities across the country, including New York City, Suffolk County, the Town of Huntington, the Town of North Hempstead, Westchester County and several upstate towns. Partners registering must submit the following proof of commitment and financial interdependence to the County Clerk, including: joint bank account; joint credit card; co-signers on a loan; joint ownership or tenancy of a residence; shared household expenses; joint ownership of a motor vehicle; joint wills; power of attorney, showing each partner naming the other as Attorney; health care proxy; life insurance benefits; retirement benefits and other proof.

The measure will go through the legislature’s committees on Monday, April 3, and is expected to go to the full legislature for approval on April 24.

Toback and Majority Legislators propose

Domestic Partner Registry for County