B. A husband upon a wife with whom he lives, or upon whom he is actually dependent in any way at the time of the injury; and

Sec. 14. 39-A MRSA §102, sub-§8, ¶B-1 is enacted to read:

B-1.__A domestic partner upon the other domestic partner upon whom the first domestic partner is actually dependent in any way at the time of the injury; and

Sec. 15. 39-A MRSA §102, sub-§10-A is enacted to read:

10-A.__Domestic partner.__"Domestic partner" means the partner of an employee who:

A.__Has been legally domiciled with the employee for at least 12 months;

B.__Is not legally married to or legally separated from another individual;

C.__Is the sole partner of the employee and expects to remain so; and

E.__Is jointly responsible with the employee for each other's common welfare as evidenced by joint living arrangements, joint financial arrangements or joint ownership of real or personal property.

Sec. 16. 39-A MRSA §102, sub-§18-A is enacted to read:

18-A.__Spouse.__"Spouse" includes the domestic partner of the employee.

SUMMARY

The purpose of this bill is to ensure that nontraditional families that include domestic partners are afforded the same protections and benefits as traditional families. The current definition of "domestic partner" is used as a model for this bill in the areas of Maine State Retirement System benefits, inheritance as provided in the Probate Code, taxation and workers' compensation and in the Maine Human Rights Act.