ORDINANCE NO.          B         

 

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF LAWRENCE, KANSAS ESTABLISHING A DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIP REGISTRY; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO DEVELOP PROCEDURES FOR THE REGISTRY

 

                                   

NOW THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED BY THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF LAWRENCE, KANSAS:

 

Section 1.        Chapter 10, Article 2, of the Code of the City of Lawrence, Kansas, 2006 Edition, and amendments thereto, is hereby enacted to read as follows:

 

10-201              DOMESTIC PARTNER DEFINED.

 

Whenever used in this Article, “domestic partner” shall be construed to mean two individuals who have reached 18 years of age, who have the mental capacity to contract, and who live together in a relationship of indefinite duration, with a mutual commitment in which the partners share the necessities of life and are financially interdependent.  Domestic partners are not married to another person, do not have another domestic partner and are not related by blood more closely than would bar their marriage in this state.

 

10-202             CRITERIA FOR ESTABLISHING A DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIP.

 

The following criteria must be met for two individuals to be considered domestic partners for the purposes of registering the partnership with the City of Lawrence:

 

(A)    Both individuals share a common permanent residence.  It is not necessary that the legal right to possess the common residence be in both of the individual’s names;

 

(B)    Both individuals agree to be in a relationship of mutual interdependence;

 

(C)    Both individuals contribute to the maintenance and support of the household.  The individuals are not required to contribute equally to the household.

 

(D)    Neither individual is married to a third individual or a member of a domestic partnership with a third individual;

 

(E)    Each individual is 18 years of age or older;

 

(F)     Each individual has the mental capacity to contract;

 

(G)    The two individuals are not related by blood in a way that would prevent them from being married to another in this State; and

 

(H)    Both individuals agree to file a Declaration of Domestic Partnership with the City pursuant to this article.

 

10-203             REGISTRATION.

 

(A)     Two persons seeking to register as domestic partners may complete and file a Declaration of Domestic Partnership with an office of the City designated by the City Manager.

 

(B)     No individual who has previously filed a Declaration of Domestic Partnership in this City may file a new Declaration of Domestic Partnership until at least ninety (90) days after the date that a Request for Removal from the Domestic Partnership Registry was filed with the City under this article.  This prohibition does not apply if the previous domestic partnership ended because one of the partners died.

 

10-204              REMOVAL FROM REGISTRY.

 

A domestic partnership registered with the City shall be removed from the registry in accordance with this Section:

 

(A)                Reasons for removal from registry:

 

(1)        One of the partners dies and the City is notified thereof; or

 

(2)        A Request for Removal from the Domestic Partner Registry has been filed by one or both of the individuals registered as domestic partners with the City.

 

                        (B)        Procedure for removal from registry:

 

(1)      Within ninety (90) days of the dissolution of the domestic partnership, at least one former partner shall file a Request for Removal from the Domestic Partner Registry with an office of the City designated by the City Manager pursuant to procedures adopted by the City Manager.  Upon receipt, the City shall provide the domestic partner who filed the Request for Removal from the Domestic Partner Registry with two copies of the Request marked “filed.”  Unless the partners jointly file the Request, the partner filing the Request, shall within five days send a copy of the filed Request to the other partner’s last known address.  This notice requirement does not apply if the removal request is due to a death of one of the domestic partners.

 

(2)        The request shall be effective upon filing the Request for Removal from the Domestic Partner Registry with the City by one or both partners or on the date of the death of one.

 

(3)        A former domestic partner who has given a copy of the Declaration of Domestic Partnership to any third party to qualify for any benefit or right and whose receipt of that benefit or enjoyment of that right has not otherwise terminated, shall notify the third party in writing of the Request for Removal from the Domestic Partner Registry, at the last known address of the third party.

 

(4)        Failure to provide third-party notice required in subsection (B)(3) shall not delay or prevent the removal of the domestic partnership from the registry.  The City shall have no duty to provide notice required by subsection (B)(3) to third parties.

 

10-205              REGISTRATION.

 

(A)        The City Manager shall develop procedures and standard forms for the “Registration of Domestic Partnership” and “Notice of Removal from the Domestic Partnership Registry.”

 

(B)        The City Manager, or his or her designee, shall determine a reasonable fee based upon the cost of processing the forms and the City shall charge these fees to the persons filing a Declaration of Domestic Partnership.  No fee shall be charged for filing a Request for Removal from the Domestic Partnership Registry.

 

(C)        The City shall maintain the registry based upon the information provided by the individuals filing the Declaration of Domestic Partnership.  The City shall have no duty to independently verify the information provided by the individuals filing the Declaration of Domestic Partnership.

 

10-206              LEGAL EFFECT.

Registration pursuant to this Article creates no legal rights, other than the right to have the registered domestic partnership included in the City’s Domestic Partner Registry pursuant to this Article.  No parties are prohibited from extending rights or benefits to persons listed in the Domestic Partner Registry.

 

10-207              OTHER APPLICABLE LAWS.

This Article shall not be interpreted nor construed to permit the recognition of a relationship that is otherwise prohibited by State law. 

 

10-208              SEVERABILITY.

If any provision, clause, sentence or paragraph of this Article or the application thereof to any person or circumstances shall be held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the other provisions of this Article which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this Article are declared to be severable.

 

 

Section 2.        This ordinance shall be effective as of the __ day of ______, 2007.

 

Passed by the governing body this           day of                          , 2007. 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                               

                                                                        Sue Hack, Mayor

 

ATTEST:

 

 

 

                                                                       

Frank S. Reeb, City Clerk

 

Approved as to form and legality:

 

 

 

                                                                       

Toni Ramirez Wheeler, Director of

   Legal Services