H.R. 3485 (112th): Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2011

Introduced:
Nov 18, 2011 (112th Congress, 2011–2013)
Sponsor:
Rep. Tammy Baldwin [D-WI2]
Status:
Died (Referred to Committee)

The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. H.R. stands for House of Representatives bill.

(About Ads | Go Ad-Free for $5)
Status

This bill was introduced on November 18, 2011, in a previous session of Congress, but was not enacted.

Progress
Introduced Nov 18, 2011
Referred to Committee Nov 18, 2011
Cosponsors
140 cosponsors (139D, 1R) (show)
Committees

House Education and the Workforce

House House Administration

House Oversight and Government Reform

House Judiciary

The committee chair determines whether a bill will move past the committee stage.

Full Title

To provide certain benefits to domestic partners of Federal employees.

Summary

No summaries available.

Text

Read Bill Text »

Last updated Nov 18, 2011.
80 pages

Primary Source

View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)

GovTrack gets most information from THOMAS, which is updated generally one day after events occur. Activity since the last update may not be reflected here.

Citation

Click a format for a citation suggestion:

GovTrack’s Bill Summary

We don’t have a summary available yet.

Library of Congress Summary

The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.

11/18/2011--Introduced.
Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2011 - Amends provisions of federal civil service law to extend employment-related and retirement benefits to domestic partners of federal employees and to set forth requirements for establishing a domestic partnership, including the filing of an affidavit attesting to the existence and legitimacy of the partnership.
Modifies provisions relating to the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) to extend eligibility for annuity and survivor benefits to domestic partners of federal employees on the same basis as married employees.
Requires the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to prescribe regulations to provide that domestic partners and former domestic partners shall be considered as spouses or former spouses for purposes of creditable service determinations under CSRS and FERS. Makes domestic partners of federal employees eligible for:
(1) the federal employee group life insurance (FEGLI) program,
(2) federal employees health benefits (FEHB),
(3) dental and vision benefit plans, and
(4) long-term care insurance coverage.
Grants the head of an federal agency authority to reimburse an employee for taxes incurred the domestic partner of such employee for travel or transportation reimbursements.
Modifies provisions of the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) to make domestic partners of federal employees eligible for worker compensation benefits under such Act. Adds "domestic partner" to the list of relatives subject to restrictions on federal employment of relatives and related prohibitions.
Includes a biological, adopted, or foster child of a domestic partner as a "son or daughter" for purposes of federal employee family and medical leave provisions.
Allows a federal employee family and medical leave to care for a domestic partner.
Requires the President to prescribe regulations necessary to ensure that specified provisions relating to the following are administered in a manner consistent with the purposes of this Act:
(1) the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993;
(2) travel, transportation, and related payments and benefits under the Foreign Service Act of 1980 and for civilian employees of the Department of Defense (DOD);
(3) certain benefits for members of the commissioned officer corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); and
(4) benefits related to federal employees or annuitants and benefits necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act. Amends the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to make provisions of that Act applicable to domestic partners of federal employees to the same extent as married employees, including provisions relating to financial disclosure, government-wide limitations on outside earned income and employment, gifts to superiors and to federal employees, bribery, acceptance of travel expenses from nonfederal sources, taxes on self-dealing, and disqualification of a justice, judge, or magistrate judge.
Requires reporting by:
(1) the President on the implementation of this Act, and
(2) the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on the effect of this Act on premiums or other periodic charges under FEHB and the impact of extending benefits to domestic partners on federal employee retention and recruitment efforts.

House Republican Conference Summary

The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.

No summary available.

House Democratic Caucus Summary

The House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.

So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference’s summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That’s because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.

We’ll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.

The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:

United States Code

The United States Code is the compilation of permanent laws enacted by Congress. Temporary and other non-permanent laws do not appear in the United States Code. (About half of the United States Code is the law itself, called positive law. The other half is merely a compilation of the laws but has no legal significance.)

Other Citations

  • 5 U.S.C. Chapter 89
  • 18 U.S.C. Chapter 11