Domestic partnership.

Existing law defines domestic partnership as two adults who have chosen to share one another's lives in an intimate and committed relationship of mutual caring. Existing law specifies requirements for entering into a domestic partnership, including that the domestic partners be either of the same sex or of the opposite sex and over 62 years of age. This bill would remove the requirement that persons be of the same sex or of the opposite sex and over 62 years of age in order to enter into a domestic partnership. Existing law imposes a $23 charge on persons filing domestic partner registrations to fund the development and support of a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender curriculum for training workshops on domestic violence and for the support of a grant program to promote healthy nonviolent relationships in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. Existing law exempts from this charge persons of opposite sexes filing a domestic partnership registration when one or both of the persons meet the eligibility criteria for federal old-age insurance benefits. This bill would expand the exemption from paying the charge to all persons filing a domestic partner registration when one or both of the domestic partners is 62 years of age or older. Existing law requires the Secretary of State to prepare forms entitled "Declaration of Domestic Partnership" and "Notice of Termination of Domestic Partnership" and to distribute those forms to each county clerk and make them available to the public at the office of the Secretary of State and each county clerk. This bill would delete the requirement that the forms be available at the office of each county clerk and, instead, require that the Secretary of State make the forms available at the office of the Secretary of State or on the Secretary of State's internet website. The bill would require the instructions to the "Declaration of Domestic Partnership" form and the internet website to include an explanation that registered domestic partners have the same rights, protections, and benefits, and are subject to the same responsibilities, obligations, and duties under law as are granted to and imposed upon spouses and an explanation of how to terminate a registered domestic partnership. This bill would also make various technical and conforming changes.