Ord No 01-10-2026ORDINANCE NO: 01 -10 -2026
ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, CREATING NEW CHAPTER 19
OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES; PROVIDING FOR THE
REGISTRATION OF DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIPS; ESTABLISHING
DOMESTIC PARTNER RIGHTS OF VISITATION; PROVIDING
HEALTH INSURANCE ELIGIBILITY AND OTHER BENEFITS TO THE
DOMESTIC PARTNERS OF CITY EMPLOYEES; PROVIDING FOR
SEVERABILITY ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT; AND AN EFFECTIVE
DATE.
WHEREAS, many Americans establish and maintain important personal, emotional, and
economic relationships with persons to whom they are not married. Individuals forming such
domestic partnerships often live in a committed family relationship. Domestic partners may be
denied the right to visit each other or their children or parents when hospitalized for lack of a
system that establishes rights of visitation in such circumstances. Also, partners in domestic
relationships may be denied public and private sector benefits because there is no established
system for such relationships to be registered or recognized. In addition, because of the status of
their relationship, domestic partners in many cases are not extended certain employment benefits
that are otherwise made available to other City employees, and
WHEREAS, employment benefits form an essential portion of the compensation
provided to City employees, and
WHEREAS, millions of Americans have identified themselves as living in a domestic
partnership and many public and private sector employers have begun to provide domestic
partner benefits to employees, and
WHEREAS, the provision of domestic partner benefits promotes employee recruitment,
retention and loyalty and serves to address the discriminatory effect of practices which deny such
benefits solely upon the basis of an employee's familial or marital status.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, that:
SECTION 1. New Chapter 19 of the Code of Ordinances is created as follows:
Chapter 19. Domestic Partnerships.
Sec. 19 -1. Definitions.
For purposes of this Ordinance:
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Ord. No. 01 -10 -2026
(a) City employee means any employee of the City of South Miami, Florida, including
employees of the South Miami Community Redevelopment Agency and all other agencies and
instrumentalities of the City.
(b) Domestic Partners means only two adults who are parties to a valid domestic partnership
relationship and who meet the requisites for a valid domestic partnership relationship as
established pursuant to Section 19 -2.
(c) Declaration of Domestic Partnership means a sworn form under penalty of perjury, which
certifies that two domestic partners meet the requirements of a domestic partnership relationship
as described in section 19 -2.
(d) Jointly Responsible means each domestic partner mutually agrees to provide for the other
partner's basic food and shelter living expenses while the domestic partnership relationship is in
effect, except that partners need not contribute equally or jointly to said basic food and shelter.
(e) Health Care Facility means any hospital, convalescent facility, walk -in clinic, doctor's
office, mental health care facility and any other short- or long -term health care facility located
within the City of South Miami.
Sec. 19 -2. Registration of Domestic Partnerships
(a) A valid domestic partnership relationship may be registered by any two persons by filing a
declaration of domestie.partnership with the Miami -Dade Consumer Services Department, which
declaration shall comply with all requirements set forth in this ordinance for establishing such
domestic partnership. Upon payment of any required fee, the Miami -Dade Consumer Services
Department shall file the declaration of domestic partnership and issue a certificate reflecting the
registration of the domestic partnership relationship.
(b) A declaration of domestic partnership shall contain the name and address of each domestic
partner, the signature of each partner, and each partner shall swear or affirm under penalty of
perjury that:
(1) Each person is at least 18 years old and competent to contract;
(2) Neither person is married, a partner to another domestic partnership relationship or
a member of another civil union;
(3) They are not related by blood;
(4) Each person considers himself or herself to be a member of the immediate family
of the other partner and to be jointly responsible for maintaining and supporting the Registered
Domestic Partnership.
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Ord. No. 01 -10 -2026
(5) Each person agrees to immediately notify the Miami -Dade Consumer Services
Department, in writing, if the terms of the Registered Domestic Partnership are no longer
applicable or one of the domestic partners wishes to terminate the domestic partnership.
(c) Any partner to a domestic partnership may file an amendment to the domestic partnership
certificate issued by the Miami -Dade Consumer Services Department to reflect a change in his or
her legal name or address, or to add or delete children.
Sec. 19 -3. Termination of registered domestic partnership relationship.
(a) Either partner to a registered domestic partnership relationship may terminate such
relationship by filing a notarized declaration of termination of domestic partnership relationship
with the Miami -Dade Consumer Services Department. Upon the payment of the required fee, the
Miami -Dade Consumer Services Department shall file the declaration and issue a certificate of
termination of domestic partnership relationship to each partner of the former relationship. The
termination shall become effective 30 days from the date the certificate of termination is issued.
(b) If any partner to a domestic partnership relationship enters into a legal marriage, the
domestic partnership relationship shall terminate automatically, and all rights, benefits, and
entitlements there under shall cease as of the effective date of the marriage. The marrying
domestic partner shall file a declaration terminating the domestic partnership relationship within
10 days after entering into a legal marriage.
(c) The death of either domestic partner shall automatically terminate the domestic partner
relationship.
(d) If either member of the domestic partnership ceases to be responsible for the other's basic
food and shelter, the domestic partnership shall be considered terminated.
Sec. 19 -4. Maintenance of records; filing fees.
(a) The Miami -Dade Consumer Services Department shall prescribe the form of all
declarations, amendments, and certificates required to be filed under this Ordinance and shall
maintain a record of all declarations, amendments, and certificates filed pursuant to this
ordinance.
(b) Filing Fees. The Department of Consumer Services shall establish fees for the filing of
any declarations, amendments, and the issuance of any certificates required by this act,
commensurate with any such fees charged for the provision of similar services it provides under
Miami -Dade County's Domestic Partnership Ordinance.
Sec. 19 -5. Extension of benefits to domestic partners of City employees.
(a) Any City employee who is a party to a registered domestic partnership relationship under
this ordinance shall be entitled to elect insurance coverage for his or her domestic partner or the
children of such domestic partner on the same basis in which any City employee may elect
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Ord. No. 01 -10 -2026
insurance coverage for his or her spouse or children. A City employee's right to elect insurance
coverage for his or her domestic partner, or the partner's children, shall extend to all forms of
insurance provided by the City to the spouses and children of City employees, unless such
coverage is prohibited by state or federal law, the terms of a collective bargaining agreement or
by the insurer. All elections of coverage shall be made in accordance with the requirements of
applicable city ordinances, rules, policies and applicable collective bargaining agreements.
(b) Any City employee who is a party to a registered domestic partnership relationship under
this ordinance shall be entitled to use all forms of leave provided by the City including, but not
limited to, sick leave, annual leave, funeral leave and family leave to care for his or her domestic
partner or the children or parents of the domestic partner as applicable. The use of leave
authorized in this section shall be consistent with the applicable requirements in city ordinances,
rules, policies, and collective bargaining agreements.
(c) Unless prohibited by state or federal law or the terns of a collective bargaining
agreement or by an insurer, all other benefits available to the spouses and children of City
employees shall be made available on the same basis to the domestic partner, or child of such
domestic partner, of a City employee who is a party to a registered domestic partnership
relationship pursuant to this ordinance.
(d) Any City employee who obtains or attempts to obtain benefits under this provision
fraudulently shall be subject to discipline, up to and including termination.
(e) The City Manager and the Miami -Dade Consumer Services Department are hereby
authorized to take all actions necessary to implement the provisions of this ordinance.
Sec. 19 -6. Health care facility visitation rights
Whenever a domestic partner is a patient in a health care facility in the City of South Miami, the
health care facility shall afford:
(a) The domestic partner of the patient the same right to visit the patient as the facility would
provide to the spouse of a patient;
(b) The parent of the domestic partner of the patient the same right to visit the patient as the
facility would provide to the parent of a spouse of a patient.
(c) The children of a domestic partner of the patient the same right to visit the patient as the
facility would provide to the children of a spouse of a patient.
SECTION 2. The rules developed to implement the provisions of this ordinance shall be
liberally construed to accomplish the policies and purposes of the ordinance. However, this
ordinance shall not be construed to supersede any federal, state, or county laws or regulations,
nor shall this ordinance be interpreted in a manner as to bring it into conflict with federal, state,
or other county laws. Nothing in this ordinance shall be construed as recognizing or treating a
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Ord. no. 01 -10 -2026
domestic partnership as a marriage. To that end, if any section, subsection, sentence, clause or
provision of this ordinance is held invalid, the remainder of this ordinance shall not be affected
by such invalidity.
SECTION 3. This Ordinance shall take effect upon adoption.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 14`x' DAY OF Januarv, 2010.
ATTEST:
CITY CLERK
1't Reading - 12/8/09
2nd Reading - 1/14/10
APPROVED:
(Al 0�-n
AYOR
��//h COMMISSION VOTE: 4 -1
READ A�PROVED AS TO RM Mayor Feliu: Yea
Vice Mayor Beasley: Yea
/� " Commissioner Palmer: Nay
Commissioner Newman: Yea
ITY ATTORNEY Commissioner Sellars: Yea
Page 5 of 5
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January 22, 2010
CITY COMMISSION
Consumer Services Department
Consumer Protection Division
140 West Flagler Street, 9th Floor
Miami, Florida 33130
Re: Transmittal of Registration of Domestic Partnership Ordinance No. 01 -10 -2026
Dear Sir /Madam:
Attached please find certified copy of Ordinance No. 01 -10 -2026 relating to registration of
domestic partnership, adopted January 14, 2010 by the City of South Miami City Commission.
The above - referenced ordinance creates a new section in the City's Code providing for
registration of domestic partnerships with the Miami -Dade Consumer Services Department.
Please do not hesitate to call upon me if you require any further information.
Very truly yours,
Maria M. Menendez, CMC
City Clerk
Cc: Roger M. Carlton, City Manager
Laurence Feingold, City Attorney
Enc
6130 Sunset Drive • South Miami, Florida 3143 -5093 • Tel: (305) 663 -6340 ^ Fax: (305) 663 -6348