35I
ORDINANCE NO:
2 ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE
3 CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, CREATING NEW CHAPTER 19
4 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES; PROVIDING FOR THE
5 REGISTRATION OF DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIPS; ESTABLISHING
6 DOMESTIC PARTNER RIGHTS OF VISITATION; PROVIDING
7 HEALTH INSURANCE ELIGIBILITY AND OTHER BENEFITS TO THE
8 DOMESTIC PARTNERS OF CITY EMPLOYEES; PROVIDING FOR
9 SEVERABILITY ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT; AND AN EFFECTIVE
10 DATE.
11 WHEREAS, many Americans establish and maintain important personal, emotional, and
12 economic relationships with persons to whom they are not married. Individuals forming such
13 domestic partnerships often live in a committed family relationship. Domestic partners may be
14 denied the right to visit each other or their children or parents when hospitalized for lack of a
15 system that establishes rights of visitation in such circumstances. Also, partners in domestic
16 relationships may be denied public and private sector benefits because there is no established
17 system for such relationships to be registered or recognized. In addition, because of the status of
18 their relationship, domestic partners in many cases are not extended certain employment benefits
19 that are otherwise made available to other City employees, and
20 WHEREAS, employment benefits form an essential portion of the compensation
21 provided to City employees, and
22 WHEREAS, millions of Americans have identified themselves as living in a domestic
23 partnership and many public and private sector employers have begun to provide domestic
24 partner benefits to employees, and
25 WHEREAS, the provision of domestic partner benefits promotes employee recruitment,
26 retention and loyalty and serves to address the discriminatory effect of practices which deny such
27 benefits solely upon the basis of an employee's familial or marital status.
28 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
29 COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, that:
30 SECTION 1. New Chapter 19 of the Code of Ordinances is created as follows:
31 Chapter 19. Domestic Partnerships.
32 Sec. 19 -1. Definitions.
33 For purposes of this Ordinance:
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1 (a) City employee means any employee of the City of South Miami, Florida, including
2 employees of the South Miami Community Redevelopment Agency and all other agencies and
3 instrumentalities of the City.
4 (b) Domestic Partners means only two adults who are parties to a valid domestic partnership
5 relationship and who meet the requisites for a valid domestic partnership relationship as
6 established pursuant to Section 19 -2.
7 (c) Declaration of Domestic Partnership means a sworn form under penalty of perjury, which
8 certifies that two domestic partners meet the requirements of a domestic partnership relationship
9 as described in section 19 -2.
10 (d) Jointly Responsible means each domestic partner mutually agrees to provide for the other
11 partner's basic food and shelter living expenses while the domestic partnership relationship is in
12 effect, except that partners need not contribute equally or jointly to said basic food and shelter.
13
14 (e) Health Care Facility means any hospital, convalescent facility, walk -in clinic, doctor's
15 office, mental health care facility and any other short- or long -tern health care facility located
16 within the City of South Miami.
17 Sec. 19 -2. Registration of Domestic Partnerships.
18 (a) A valid domestic partnership relationship may be registered by any two persons by filing a
19 declaration of domestic partnership with the Miami -Dade Consumer Services Department, which
20 declaration shall comply with all requirements set forth in this ordinance for establishing such
21 domestic partnership. Upon payment of any required fee, the Miami -Dade Consumer Services
22 Department shall file the declaration of domestic partnership and issue a certificate reflecting the
23 registration of the domestic partnership relationship.
24
25 (b) A declaration of domestic partnership shall contain the name and address of each domestic
26 partner, the signature of each partner, and each partner shall swear or affirm under penalty of
27 perjury that:
28 (1) Each person is at least 18 years old and competent to contract;
29 (2) Neither person is married, a partner to another domestic partnership relationship or
30 a member of another civil union;
31 (3) They are not related by blood;
32 (4) Each person considers himself or herself to be a member of the immediate family
33 of the other partner and to be jointly responsible for maintaining and supporting the Registered
34 Domestic Partnership.
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1 (5) Each person agrees to immediately notify the Miami -Dade Consumer Services
2 Department, in writing, if the terms of the Registered Domestic Partnership are no longer
3 applicable or one of the domestic partners wishes to terminate the domestic partnership.
4 (c) Any partner to a domestic partnership may file an amendment to the domestic partnership
5 certificate issued by the Miami -Dade Consumer Services Department to reflect a change in his or
6 her legal name or address, or to add or delete children.
7 Sec. 19 -3. Termination of registered domestic partnership relationship.
8 (a) Either partner to a registered domestic partnership relationship may terminate such
9 relationship by filing a notarized declaration of termination of domestic partnership relationship
10 with the Miami -Dade Consumer Services Department. Upon the payment of the required fee, the
11 Miami -Dade Consumer Services Department shall file the declaration and issue a certificate of
12 termination of domestic partnership relationship to each partner of the former relationship. The
13 termination shall become effective 30 days from the date the certificate of termination is issued.
14 (b) If any partner to a domestic partnership relationship enters into a legal marriage, the
15 domestic partnership relationship shall terminate automatically, and all rights, benefits, and
16 entitlements there under shall cease as of the effective date of the marriage. The marrying
17 domestic partner shall file a declaration terminating the domestic partnership relationship within
18 10 days after entering into a legal marriage.
19 (c) The death of either domestic partner shall automatically terminate the domestic partner
20 relationship.
21
22 (d) If either mernber of the domestic partnership ceases to be responsible for the other's basic
23 food and shelter, the domestic partnership shall be considered terminated.
24 Sec. 19 -4. Maintenance of records; filing fees.
25 (a) The Miami -Dade Consumer Services Department shall prescribe the form of all
26 declarations, amendments, and certificates required to be filed under this Ordinance and shall
27 maintain a record of all declarations, amendments, and certificates filed pursuant to this
28 ordinance.
29
30 (b) Filing Fees. The Miami -Dade Consumer Services Department shall establish fees for the
31 filing of any declarations, amendments, and the issuance of any certificates required by this act,
32 commensurate with any such fees charged for the provision of similar services it provides under
33 Miami -Dade County's Domestic Partnership Ordinance.
34
35 Sec. 19 -5. Extension of benefits to domestic partners of City employees.
36 (a) Any City employee who is a party to a registered domestic partnership relationship under
37 this ordinance shall be entitled to elect insurance coverage for his or her domestic partner or the
38 children of such domestic partner on the same basis in which any City employee may elect
Page 3 of 5
1 insurance coverage for his or her spouse or children. A City employee's right to elect insurance
2 coverage for his or her domestic partner, or the partner's children, shall extend to all forms of
3 insurance provided by the City to the spouses and children of City employees, unless such
4 coverage is prohibited by state or federal law, the terms of a collective bargaining agreement or
5 by the insurer. All elections of coverage shall be made in accordance with the requirements of
6 applicable city ordinances, rules, policies and applicable collective bargaining agreements.
7
8 (b) Any City employee who is a party to a registered domestic partnership relationship under
9 this ordinance shall be entitled to use all forms of leave provided by the City including, but not
10 limited to, sick leave, annual leave, funeral leave and family leave to care for his or her domestic
11 partner or the children or parents of the domestic partner as applicable. The use of leave
12 authorized in this section shall be consistent with the applicable requirements in city ordinances,
13 rules, policies, and collective bargaining agreements.
14 (c) Unless prohibited by state or federal law or the terms of a collective bargaining
15 agreement or by an insurer, all other benefits available to the spouses and children of City
16 employees shall be made available on the same basis to the domestic partner, or child of such
17 domestic partner, of a City employee who is a party to a registered domestic partnership
18 relationship pursuant to this ordinance.
19 (d) Any City employee who obtains or attempts to obtain benefits under this provision
20 fraudulently shall be subject to discipline, up to and including termination.
21 (e) The City Manager and the Miami -Dade Consumer Services Department are hereby
22 authorized to take all actions necessary to implement the provisions of this ordinance.
23 Sec. 19 -6. Health care facility visitation rights
24 Whenever a domestic partner is a patient in a health care facility in the City of South Miami, the
25 health care facility shall afford:
26 (a) The domestic partner of the patient the same right to visit the patient as the facility would
27 provide to the spouse of a patient;
28 (b) The parent of the domestic partner of the patient the same right to visit the patient as the
29 facility would provide to the parent of a spouse of a patient.
30 (c) The children of a domestic partner of the patient the same right to visit the patient as the
31 facility would provide to the children of a spouse of a patient.
32 SECTION 2. The rules developed to implement the provisions of this ordinance shall be
33 liberally construed to accomplish the policies and purposes of the ordinance. However, this
34 ordinance shall not be construed to supersede any federal, state, or county laws or regulations,
35 nor shall this ordinance be interpreted in a manner as to bring it into conflict with federal, state,
36 or other county laws. Nothing in this ordinance shall be construed as recognizing or treating a
Page 4 of 5
1 domestic partnership as a marriage. To that end, if any section, subsection, sentence, clause or
2 provision of this ordinance is held invalid, the remainder of this ordinance shall not be affected
3 by such invalidity.
4 SECTION 3. This Ordinance shall take effect upon adoption.
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PASSED AND ADOPTED this 12010.
ATTEST: APPROVED:
CITY CLERK
READ AND APPROVED AS TO FORM
CITY ATTORNEY
MAYOR
1St Reading -
2 "d Reading —
COMMISSION VOTE:
Mayor Feliu:
Vice Mayor Beasley:
Commissioner Palmer:
Commissioner Newman:
Commissioner Sellars:
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