With a unanimous vote, the Venice City Council adopted a domestic partnership registry ordinance at its March 12 meeting. The first-reading of the ordinance came nearly a month after the council gave the go-ahead for staff to come up with the proper wording of the ordinance.
Venice, which is south of Sarasota, is one of many communities throughout the state adopting an ordinance that protects unmarried couples and provides a small handful of benefits that might otherwise be unavailable.
The domestic partnership registry gives unmarried couples, regardless of sexuality, certain rights such as hospital visitation or making funeral or health care decisions for a partner.
The city of Sarasota started its registry in September and charges couples who sign and file an affidavit a $30 fee. Other area governments, including Pinellas County, the cities of St. Petersburg, Gulfport and Clearwater and the city of Tampa have also enacted registries.
Hillsborough County, however, rejected a registry in February, bucking a trend that has swept across the state.
Once Venice’s registry is enacted, the city plans to charge couples $30 to register.
