Princeton Borough OK's DP Benefits

June 30, 2004

With a pair of unanimous votes by the borough council June 23, the borough joined a short list of New Jersey government bodies that have agreed to offer health-care and pension benefits to employees' same-sex domestic partners.

With a pair of unanimous votes by the borough council June 23, the borough joined a short list of New Jersey government bodies that have agreed to offer health-care and pension benefits to employees' same-sex domestic partners.

The decisions are linked with the state's new domestic partnership law, which takes effect July 10.

Among its provisions, the state law makes registered, same-sex partners of state employees eligible for health insurance and pension coverage.

It also allows municipalities and other government agencies enrolled in the state health-benefits program the option of extending domestic-partner health and pension benefits to their employees' same-sex partners.

Some borough council members said earlier this week that extending benefits to employees' same-sex domestic partners is a matter of fairness.

The council passed a pair of resolutions to do so at last night's meeting without comment, other than Councilman David Goldfarb's recommendation that the borough's personnel policies be amended to incorporate the changes.

It will cost the borough between $3,000 and $4,000 more annually for each employee who applies for the health-insurance coverage, borough Administrator Bob Bruschi has said.

He said there is no way to project what the total financial impact on the borough will be because it is unknown how many of its 140 employees will seek the benefit.

Many municipalities, school districts and fire departments are among the approximately 900 government agencies in New Jersey that participate in the state health-benefits program.

However, as of Monday, only three - the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and Rutherford Borough - had passed resolutions authorizing health and/or pension benefits to their employees' same-sex domestic partners, according to the state Treasury Department.

The new state law offers gay and lesbian couples rights currently available solely to married couples, such as permission to make critical medical decisions for an incapacitated partner, hospital visits, a state income-tax deduction for dependents and an inheritance-tax exemption.

Most of its provisions also apply to unmarried heterosexual couples age 62 and older.