Dallas County Commissioners agreed Tuesday to pay for health care for domestic partners of county workers.
The proposal passed on a 3-2 vote.
In the proposal, a domestic partner would be defined as someone of the same or opposite sex with whom the employee lives and shares a relationship with, according to papers prepared for the commission's approval.
In order to attain domestic partner status, an employee would have to prove that they have lived with their partner for at least six months and share financial and household responsibilities with them.
They will need to provide a lease or mortgage documentation with both names listed, or proof of a joint bank or credit account, or a utility bill that lists the names of both partners on it.
The health insurance benefits would not be directly awarded, according to county documents. The county employee would be paid a subsidy that they would have to use to purchase a private insurance policy. In order to continue the subsidy, the employee would have to provide quarterly proof that a policy has in fact been purchased.
The extra coverage is expected to cost the county less than $100,000.
