By Kirk Laughlin
With rallying cries opposing domestic partner benefits rising up in the Capitol rotunda, and an upcoming election with benefits as a key campaign issue, the University of Louisville’s domestic partner benefits program has been at the nexus of much statewide debate.
In June 2006, the Board of Trustees voted 19-1 to approve a plan that would extend insurance benefits to include the partner of a U of L faculty member, regardless of sexual orientation.
“In providing domestic partner benefits, we sought to give the university the potential to recruit and retain the highest quality faculty possible,” U of L Vice President of Communications John Drees said. “Doing this has given us a competitive advantage.”
According to Drees, as of July 31, U of L has 14 faculty members that are enrolled in the domestic partner benefits program. According to U of L’s facts Web site, there are 5,948 faculty and staff employed by the university.
The enthusiasm is not shared across the rest of Kentucky. In the spring 2007 legislative session, Representative Stan Lee [R-Lexington] the Republican nominee for attorney general, sent a letter asking for current Attorney General Greg Stumbo’s legal opinion on U of L’s domestic partner plan.
In the letter, Lee contended that providing health insurance to a state employee’s same-sex partner violates the Kentucky constitutional amendment passed in 2004 limiting marriage between a man and a woman and saying that any “legal status identical to or similar to marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized.”
In Stumbo’s opinion, he asked the university to use “any other approach that would not involve the unconstitutional recognition of a legal status resembling that of marriage” in providing insurance benefits to employees’ domestic partners.
On July 31, with a special legislative session called by Gov. Ernie Fletcher, the issue came up again. The Family Foundation of Kentucky rallied in the state house rotunda for the legislators to pass a bill halting domestic partner benefits. Numerous state legislators, including Senate President David Williams [R-Burkesville] addressed the group.
On the same day, Stumbo announced that U of L would comply with his opinion and the bill to ban domestic partner benefits died after passing the Senate when the House adjourned, forcing the Senate to leave as well until Aug. 13. When the session reconvened, House Democrats refused to address any issue but energy concerns, effectively killing the bill.
Drees said, “The benefits policy is currently under review to align itself with the attorney general’s opinion,” and the new policy should be in effect “sometime in late October to early November.”
“The domestic partner program has cost the university roughly $3,600 to make up the difference between what employees pay into the system and the cost of it,” Drees said. “All of this money comes from the U of L Foundation Fund, which is outside of the general fund that is supported by tax and tuition dollars, in keeping with the university’s promise to not use taxpayer dollars when we began this program.”
“U of L is experiencing growing pains,” political science professor Dr. Jasmine Farrier said. “The university is trying to offer competitive benefits to attract the best faculty possible. It is up to U of L to convince legislators that this is in the greater good of the university and the commonwealth.”
