Int. No. 163
By Council Members Duane, Clarke, DiBrienza, Eldridge, Freed, Harrison, Linares, Pinkett, Robinson, Sabini, Cruz, Marshall, Michels, Eristoff, Espada, Fisher, Henry, Koslowitz, Lopez, Miller, Perkins, Reed, Rodriguez, Warden, Watkins, White, Eisland, the Public Advocate (Mr. Green) and Wooten (by the request of the Comptroller), (by request of the Bronx Borough President) and (by request of the Manhattan Borough President); also Council Members Carrion, Leffler and Weiner.
A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York in relation to domestic partners.
Be it enacted by the Council as follows:
Section one. Title eight of the administrative code of the city of New York is hereby amended by adding a new chapter eight to read as follows:
CHAPTER 8
DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIP
§8-801 Declaration of policy. It is hereby found that significant changes in our society have resulted in the creation of diverse living arrangements and the development of nontraditional family compositions or familial units. Brought about by economic and practical concerns as well as emotional, sentimental and other forces, individuals who are committed members of a nontraditional family duly deserve protection against discrimination. A procedure to officially create and terminate a nontraditional family unit is hereby established and it is declared the policy of the city of New York to prohibit harmful discrimination by the City of New York against nontraditional family units.
§8-802 Definitions. When used in this chapter 1. The term "domestic partnership" means (a) two unrelated individuals 18 years of age or older, neither of whom is married, who have chosen to share one another's lives in a close and committed relationship of mutual caring, who live together, have agreed to share responsibility for basic living expenses incurred during the domestic partnership and have established their partnership as provided in this chapter.
(b) A domestic partnership may be established by:
(i) Presenting an original domestic partnership statement to the County Clerk, who will file it and give the partners a certificate showing that the statement was filed with the Clerk; or
(ii) Having a domestic partnership statement notarized; or
(iii) In the event of death, the existence of a domestic partnership may be established by proving emotional financial commitment and interdependence. Although no single factor shall be solely determinative, evidence which is to be considered in determining whether such emotional and financial commitment and interdependence existed, may include, without limitation, such factors as listed below. In no event would evidence of a sexual relationship between such persons be required.
(a) longevity of the relationship;
(b) sharing of or relying upon each other for payment of household or family expenses, and/or other common necessities of life;
(c) intermingling of finances as evidenced by among other things, joint ownership of bank accounts, personal and real property, credit cards, loan obligations, sharing a household budget for purposes of receiving government benefits; etc.;
(d) engaging in family-type activities by jointly attending family functions, holidays and celebrations, social and recreational activities, etc.;
(e) formalizing of legal obligations, intentions, and responsibilities to each other by such means as executing wills naming each other as executor and/or beneficiary, granting each other a power of attorney and/or conferring upon each other authority to make health care decisions each for the other, entering into a personal relationship contract, or serving as a representative payee for purposes of public benefits, etc.;
(f) holding themselves out as family members to other family members, friends, members of the community or religious institutions, or society in general, through their words or actions;
(g) regularly performing family functions, such as caring for each other or each other's extended family members, and/or relying upon each other for daily family services;
(h) engaging in any other pattern of behavior, agreement, or other action which evidences the intention of creating a long-term, emotionally-committed relationship.
2. The term "live together" means that two people have a joint primary residence. Two people may live together even if one or both individuals have additional residential property.
3. The term "domestic partnership statement" means an official document, provided by the city clerk, and any amendment thereto, executed by two people who agree to enter into a domestic partnership and certify that all qualifications for domestic partnership have been met. A standard Domestic Partnership Statement shall be prepared by the corporation counsel within thirty days of the effective date of this legislation and shall contain appropriate information including but not limited to:
(a) both individuals' legal name, date of birth and current address;
(b) provisions asserting that:
(1) the individuals are unrelated; and
(2) neither of the individuals are married.
5. The term "the commission" means the city commission on human rights.
6. The term "county clerk" means the clerk of any borough within the City of New York.
7. The term "unrelated" means individuals whose relationship to each other is not that of:
(a) parent to child whether step, whole or adopted; and
(b) sibling to sibling whether half, whole or adopted; and
(c) uncle to niece or nephew; or
(d) aunt to niece or nephew.
§8-803 Amendments. Parties must amend the agreement to reflect changes in legal name(s).
§8-804 Multiple domestic partnership agreements prohibited. No individual shall be a party to more than one domestic partnership agreement simultaneously. No one who has filed a domestic partnership agreement shall enter into a new agreement with a new party until the prior agreement has been formally terminated.
§8-805 Termination. (1) A domestic partnership ends when the partners no longer meet the definition for domestic partnership described herein, one partner sends the other a written notice that he or she has ended the partnership, or one of the partners dies.
(2) When a domestic partnership ends, the partners must execute a notice of termination naming the partners and stating that the partnership has ended (hereinafter "notice of termination"). The notice of termination must be dated and signed by at least one of the partners. If the declaration of domestic partnership for the partnership was filed with the county clerk, the notice of termination must be filed with the county clerk; in all other cases, the notice of termination must be notarized.
(3) A domestic partner who has given a copy of a domestic partnership statement to any party in order to qualify for any benefit or right must, whenever the domestic partnership ends, give that third party a copy of the notice of termination. Upon the death of a partner, the surviving partner must give the notice of termination to those third parties whom she or he knows were given a copy of the statement by the deceased partner in order to qualify for a benefit or right. The notice must be sent within 60 days of the termination of the domestic partnership. Failure to give notice as required by this section will neither prevent nor delay termination of the domestic partnership.
§8-806 Unlawful discriminatory acts. The city of New York shall not discriminate against domestic partnerships in anyway; when a marital relationship is used as a factor in any decision, policy or practice, or as the basis for any right, benefit or protection, domestic partnership must be accorded the same treatment.
§8-807 Procedure. (1) Any person claiming to be aggrieved by an unlawful discriminatory act as defined by §8-806 of this chapter may file a complaint with the commission according to the procedure detailed in section 8-109 of this title.
(2) This chapter may be enforced by a civil action in the Supreme Court of the State of New York. A complaint to the commission is not a prerequisite to enforcement in a civil action. The pendancy of a complaint before the commission shall not bar any civil action under this section, but a final judgement in any civil action shall bar any further proceedings by the Commission.
§8-808 Rights and duties.
(a) Upon demand, a domestic partner must provide a copy of a current domestic partnership statement to qualify for any right or benefit. Anyone who requires a person to provide evidence of a domestic partnership must accept a copy of a current domestic partnership statement as complete proof thereof.
(b) Anyone who suffers a loss resulting from an individual deriving benefits from a terminated domestic partnership shall have a cause of action for damages against the acting party.
§8-809 Records.
(a) The county clerk shall keep a current record of all domestic partnership statements that are filed and amendments to such statements including termination notices. Domestic partnership statements shall be confidential records and released only through written request of a party to the statement or a subpoena issued by the commission or a court of competent jurisdiction.
(b) Filing fees. The county clerk may charge a reasonable fee for costs associated with filing, amending, or providing certified copies of domestic partnership statements.
§8-810 Non-waiverability. Any written or oral agreement which proports to waive any provision of this chapter is against public policy and void.
§8-811 Limited effect. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to alter, affect or conflict with state or federal laws. This chapter is not intended to and does not make the New York Partnership Law or New York Domestic Relations Law applicable to domestic partnerships or affect New York City or State taxes due and payable by any individual or individuals. No rights, duties or liabilities other than those specified in this chapter shall be conferred upon domestic partners or partnerships.
§2. This local law shall take effect ninety days after it has been enacted into law.