The Senate Committee on Reforms, Restructuring, and Reinventing passed legislation this week banning health insurance benefits offered to domestic partners of local government, school district, and higher educational institution employees. House Bills 4770 and 4771, sponsored by Representative Dave Agema (R-Grandville), now moves to the Senate floor for consideration.
Proponents of the measure claim that the passage of Proposal 2 in 2004 banning gay marriage applies to healthcare coverage – something the Supreme Court agreed to in 2008.
The Senate was unsuccessful in an attempt to accomplish virtually the same thing earlier this year in Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) C; it failed to obtain the necessary two-thirds vote to move forward a constitutional amendment.