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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Stewart

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

3/17/2007

3/17/2007 HB

603/SFlS/aSFl#1/a

HHGAC

SHORT TITLE Contractual Common Household Act

SB

ANALYST Schuss

REVENUE (dollars in thousands)

Estimated Revenue

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

FY09

$.1 see narrative

recurring Children’s Trust

Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Revenue Decreases)

ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT (dollars in thousands)

FY07

FY08

FY09 3 Year

Total Cost

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

Total

$.1 see

narrative Unknown

Unknown

Recurring General

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

SUMMARY

Synopsis of HHGAC Amendment

The House Health and Government Affairs Committee amendment strikes the first senate floor

amendment, and amends the bill title to read:

Relating to domestic affairs; enacting the Domestic Partner Rights and Responsibilities

Act.

The amendment strikes the Senate Floor substitute and returns the bill to its original version with

some exceptions. The fee of $25 was defined as a license fee in the original bill; it is now defined

as a registration fee. The bill clarifies jurisdiction issues with the original bill in Section 4.

The synopsis of the amended bill is as follows:

House Bill 603/SFIS/aSFl#1/a HHGAC – Page

2

HB 603 enacts the Domestic Partner Rights and Responsibilities Act.

Section 2: Defines terms used within the Act, including “domestic partner" to mean “an adult

who has chosen to share in another adult’s life in an intimate and committed relationship of

mutual caring and support and who has established a domestic partnership." “Domestic

partnership" is defined to mean “the legal relationship two domestic partners establish with each

other," provided the partners:

•

share a common residence;

•

are the age of majority;

•

are capable of consenting;

•

are not married to another and are not part of a valid domestic

partnership or a civil union recognized in another state; and

•

are not related by blood in a way that prevents marriage under the laws

of New Mexico.

Section 3: Provides that a domestic partner has the same rights, protections and benefits under

the law as a spouse in marriage, including parental rights. The Act provides that a domestic

partner shall use the same filing status as is used on a federal income tax return. Earned income

shall not be treated as community property for state income tax purposes.

Section 4: Provides that the district court has jurisdiction over all proceedings relating to

domestic partnership. Provides that the court shall follow the same procedures as are used for

spouses in a marriage, except that a domestic partnership registered in this state may be filed in

the district courts even if neither domestic partner is a resident of, or maintains a domicile in, the

state. Nothing in this section shall be construed as granting jurisdiction in conflict with the

Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act as adopted in New Mexico.

Section 5: Provides for legal recognition of other legal domestic partnership unions other than

marriage formalized in other jurisdictions.

Section 6: Requires an adult wishing to form a domestic partnership to file an affidavit from the

secretary of state or a county clerk. HB 603 provides that $15 of each registration fee shall go to

the Children’s Trust Fund.

Section 7: Sets out the actions taken to establish a domestic partnership, and requires a county

clerk to issue, record and index a certificate of domestic partnership.

Section 8: Provides that the filing of an intentionally and materially false declaration of domestic

partnership is a misdemeanor.

Section 9: Provides for the form of both an affidavit of domestic partnership and a certificate of

domestic partnership.

Section 10: Requires that the Act be liberally construed to carry out its purpose.

Section 11: The Act contains a severability clause.

House Bill 603/SFIS/aSFl#1/a HHGAC – Page

3

Fiscal Implications

The bill presumably raises the cost of any state insurance plan who adopts it as it extends

coverage to additional people who are subsidized to any degree.

Significant Issues

The AOC raised the following issue with the original bill:

Section 4 provides that a domestic partnership registered in this state may be filed in the

district courts of this state even if neither domestic partner is a resident of, or maintains a

domicile in, the state at the time the proceedings are filed. Does this mean that an action

concerning a domestic partnership registered in this state may be filed in the district court absent

residency or domicile.

Synopsis of Senate Floor Amendment #1

Senate Floor amendment #1 to House Bill 603 (as substituted and amended) reflects the

following language:

1.

On page 1, line 22, strike the line after “adults".

The amendment adds no appropriation to the legislation.

Synopsis of Original Bill

The Senate Floor Substitute for House Bill 603 enacts the Contractual Common Household Act.

Section 2: Defines terms used within the Act and these terms are:

•

common household member

•

contractual common household

•

filing of a contractual common household

Section 3: Contains presumptions of common household members. Common Household

members are presumed to:

•

be competent to enter a contract to receive benefits that are available to each other

separately

•

be competent to act as surrogates for each other for the purpose of medical

decision-making and to make, revoke or object to an anatomical gift of a decedent

ally

•

purchase property jointly

•

assume for a child born or adopted by one or both common household members

all the duties of parentage

•

be subject to statutory nepotism restrictions

Section 4: Provides that the Contractual Common Household Act does not affect existing child

custody, visitation or parenting agreements, legitimize a child born into or adopted into a

contractual common household or legitimize an incestuous sexual relationship between blood

relations. A contractual common household involving an incestuous sexual relationship is

House Bill 603/SFIS/aSFl#1/a HHGAC – Page

4

prohibited and shall be declared void.

Section 5: Provides that property in a contractual common household shall be classed as separate

property or joint property. Separate property and joint property are defined in this section.

Section 6: Provides for the conditions of separate and joint debt of a contractual common

household.

Sections 7: Provides that a person shall not enter into more than one contractual common

household at a time, and that a married person shall not file a contractual common household

until divorced or widowed.

Section 8: Provides that the district court has jurisdiction over proceedings relating to the

dissolution of a contractual common household or legal separation of common household

members. The district court shall apply the relevant contract provisions for dissolution of a

contractual common household.

Section 9: Provides the contractual common household forms.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

There will be a minimal administrative cost for statewide update, distribution and documentation

of statutory changes. Any additional fiscal impact on the judiciary would be proportional to the

enforcement of this law and resultant district court actions. New laws, amendments to existing

laws and new hearings have the potential to increase caseloads in the courts, thus requiring

additional resources to handle the increase.

There is a $25 fee to file for a contractual common household. This fee will be collected by the

county clerk.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

The courts are participating in performance-based budgeting. This bill may have an impact on

the measures of the district courts in the following areas:

•

Cases disposed of as a percent of cases filed

•

Percent change in case filings by case type

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

There may be an administrative impact on the courts as the result of an increase in caseload

and/or in the amount of time necessary to dispose of cases.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

The original bill enacted the Domestic Partner Rights and Responsibilities Act.

BS/mt