SPLIT UC BACKS BENEFIT EXTENSION; GAY EMPLOYEES' HEALTH COVERAGE TO INCLUDE PARTNERS.Byline: Dara Akiko Tom Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. A divided University of California The University of California has a combined student body of more than 191,000 students, over 1,340,000 living alumni, and a combined systemwide and campus endowment of just over $7.3 billion (8th largest in the United States). Board of Regents An independent governing body that oversees a state's public Colleges and Universities. All 50 states have governing bodies that oversee the administration of public education. on Friday narrowly voted to extend health benefits to domestic partners of its gay employees. The plan was approved 13-12, with one abstention ABSTENTION, French law. This is the tacit renunciation by an heir of a succession Merl. Rep. h.t. , after Gov. Pete Wilson For others named Pete Wilson, see . Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American Republican politician from California. Wilson served as the thirty-sixth Governor of California (1991–1999), the culmination of more than three decades in the public arena that made two 11th-hour regent appointments, provoking charges he was trying to ``stack'' the board. Both appointees voted unsuccessfully against the plan. ``It's a great day for the University of California and state of California,'' said Jonathan Winters, a UC Berkeley employee and member of the UC Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender transgender or transgendered adj. Transsexual. Association. A late addition to the benefits extension covered certain dependent members of traditional families, but unmarried heterosexual couples are not covered not covered Health care adjective Referring to a procedure, test or other health service to which a policy holder or insurance beneficiary is not entitled under the terms of the policy or payment system–eg, Medicare. Cf Covered. . Opponents, including Wilson, said extending the benefits would be ``devaluing marriage.'' Supporters countered that it was an issue of equality and that the nine-campus system's ability to recruit and retain quality professors would suffer because comparable institutions, such as Stanford and Harvard, already offer such benefits. Under the plan, domestic partners of the same sex must be at least 18, have lived together for at least a year, be in a ``long-term relationship of infinite duration,'' and provide documents showing mutual home ownership or lease, common bank accounts, credit cards or investments, among other requirements. An amendment Thursday added domestic partners who can't marry ``because of a family relationship,'' such as a single parent caring for an adult child. The board's finance committee had recommended approval of the plan. The UC system has 130,000 employees. It was not clear how many had partners who would be eligible or apply for benefits. However, the UC has estimated it could cost between $1.5 million and $5 million a year. The system currently spends about $400 million for heath care benefits. The governor said he was disappointed by the vote and warned that the regents had made UC vulnerable to lawsuits. ``I think it puts the university in the position it will legitimately be accused of devaluing marriage,'' he said after the meeting, held on the UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX campus. Just hours before the vote, Wilson announced the appointments of Republicans to fill two vacancies in the 26-member board. Chandler Farms co-owner Carol Chandler, 52, of Selma and portfolio management firm chairman John Hotchkis, 65, of Pasadena voted against the benefits extension. State Sen. Tom Hayden Thomas Emmett "Tom" Hayden (born December 11, 1939) is an American social and political activist and politician, most famous for his involvement in the anti-war and civil rights movements of the 1960s. , D-Los Angeles, denounced the appointments as indicating ``the governor will do anything, even stack the UC Board of Regents, when he feels a political imperative.'' Regent Ward Connerly, who has sided with Wilson in the past on such issues as banning affirmative action affirmative action, in the United States, programs to overcome the effects of past societal discrimination by allocating jobs and resources to members of specific groups, such as minorities and women. , said he voted to extend the benefits as a matter of equity. Lt. Gov. Gray Davis said he supported the measure because all UC employees and their dependents should have adequate health care. Davis noted that in the state Legislature, he voted against a measure that would have recognized gay marriages but also voted in favor of health benefits for domestic partners of state employees. UC President Richard Atkinson said in a memo to the regents' finance committee that comparable universities offer such benefits to ``strengthen their competitive stance, improve institutional morale and promote diversity in the workplace.'' |
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