Wisconsin Domestic Partner Registry To Open August 3
Madison - Starting Monday, August 3, committed same-sex couples in Wisconsin will be able to sign a declaration of domestic partnership at county clerk offices and have the security of over 40 limited legal protections. The registry and legal protections became a reality with the signing of the state’s biennial budget June 30 by Governor Jim Doyle here.
  The same-sex partner protections and registry were among several non-policy items included in the budget bill. Other notable policy changes in the budget will require all licensed Wisconsin drivers to carry auto liability insurance, police will be able to pull drivers over for failure to wear their seat belts, insurance companies must provide coverage for mental health and autism treatment, and state workers will have to take 16 days off without pay.
  Several other contentious policy items - driver’s ID cards for undocumented resident aliens and changes in liability law - failed to make the final version of the budget bill sent to the Governor’s Mansion to be by Doyle. Another policy item originally proposed in Doyle’s initial budget proposal, a statewide smoking ban in public places including taverns, was removed, revised and passed separately last May.
  In all the Governor used his veto pen 81 times to trim the final bill. One of his changes utilized the now constitutionally-banned “Frankenstein veto.” Doyle struck words from three sentences to create a new sentence altering the timing, committee make-up and scope of a state study on institutions caring for the mentally retarded. Doyle’s budget director Dave Schmiedicke noted the change could have been created by a legally correct veto and pledged to work with the legislature to correct the error.
  Despite the fact that it was included in a larger bill, the domestic partner protections and registry marked the first time that lawmakers in any state with a constitutional gay marriage and civil union ban has passed benefits for same sex partners in a committed relationship. Budget Committee Co-Chair and openly gay Madison Assembly Representative hailed the budget’s DP measure as “a historic development that will make a difference in the lives of thousands of gay and lesbian families across the state.”
  “No longer will committed, long-time partners be treated like legal strangers to each other,” Pocan said in a prepared statement.
  Fair Wisconsin’s Katie Belanger also viewed the bill as historic. “This makes Wisconsin the first state in the Midwest to legislatively enact protections for same-sex couples – putting the state whose motto is “Forward” back on a progressive track towards full equality,” she said.
  Julaine Appling of Wisconsin Family Action, the lobbying arm of the Wisconsin Family Council, berated the Governor and the legislature for “ignoring the will of the people” in passing the budget with the DP benefits package included. “This social experiment will cost taxpayers millions and is an end-run around a constitutional definition of marriage passed by nearly 60% of the voters in 2006,” Appling - who herself potentially may be eligible to register for a domestic partnership - wrote in a press release.
  The Wisconsin Family Council earlier had announced the organization had joined with the James Dobson-founded Alliance Defense Fund to challenge the domestic partner provisions in the budget if passed. No formal action has been since the budget became law but is expected shortly.
  From what is known thus far about the domestic partner registry process, same sex couples will start at their County Clerk's office and apply for the domestic partnership registry. Applicants will need to present an ID, a certified copy of their birth certificate, proof of address, and a fee. The fee is expected to be similar as that for  marriage licenses in Wisconsin. LaCrosse County has advised representatives of the LGBT Resource Center of the Seven Rivers Region that the county's fee will be $70, while Fond Du Lac County County Clerk Lisa Freiberg told the Wisconsin Radio Network that she will seek a $90 fee. Termination of domestic partnership  applications are also expected to cost the same as partnership registrations.
  The two individuals must be at least 18 years old, and members of the same sex,. They must also share a common residence, not be nearer of kin than second cousins, and not be married or in another domestic partnership.
 If either party has been married before they will need a copy of their divorce decree. If either party has been in a prior domestic partnership before they will need proof of termination of the partnership when applying.
  Following the application process there will be a statutory 5 day waiting period.  After the waiting period the couple will need to take their document and file it with the Register of Deeds. There is no cost to file a domestic partnership registry. However, to obtain a certified copy there will be a standard fee for the first copy and a lesser fee for each additional copy. Couples typically will need to provide certified copies of the registered domestic partnership to obtain benefits from third parties such as hospitals, employers and so on.
  A detailed explanation of the protections available to registered domestic partners will be published officially in the near future. Among the benefits provided are the following: family leave for sick or dying partner; hospital visitation; the ability to admit incapacitated partner to nursing facility; the ability to access partners medical records; death benefits for partners of police and firefighters killed in the line of duty; the ability to file suit for wrongful death; crime victim notification and compensation; the ability to transfer real estate without paying fee; the presumption of joint tenancy; immunity from testifying against a domestic partner; and the ability to inherit. A detailed outline of the benefits is available online from the Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau by clicking here.