Commissioner Wants To Reopen Domestic Benefits Issue

Kevin Beckner, Hillsborough County's first openly gay commissioner, is about to reopen the potentially explosive issue of giving health care benefits to the domestic partners of county employees.

Beckner requested that commissioners discuss the issue Thursday at their regularly scheduled meeting. The last time the issue came up, in April 2004, a split commission instructed County Administrator Pat Bean not to take any steps to offer the coverage.

Beckner, who won election to the commission in November, said the issue isn't coming for a vote Thursday but that a discussion will take place to see if it is a viable option to offer county employees.

He said most Fortune 500 companies offer domestic partnership benefits. He also said studies show that offering domestic partners health care benefits contributes little or no cost to the insurance program.

"I am contending that we can offer this benefit with little or no cost to the county," he said.

Studies show that most people who take advantage of the benefits are opposite gender couples, he said.

The county's employee group health care plan allows participation by employees, retirees and dependents of each. Dependents are defined as spouses and children. Changes to the eligibility rule must be approved by the commission.

Bean said covering domestic partners would probably cost the county more, but she doesn't know how much.

"I have to believe it will cost more because we'd be adding people" to the coverage, Bean said.

Beckner's gambit drew immediate fire from Mark Sharpe, considered by many to be one of the more-moderate commissioners. Sharpe said expanding government spending while the county and nation are mired in a financial crisis is "irresponsible."

"We sit on the edge of economic collapse, and our government should be focused on tightening our belts and curbing spending," Sharpe said.

Bean said Beckner asked her to bring the issue forward Thursday.

"I said I didn't think I could do that; I was directed by the board not to," Bean said. "I explained that to him. He said he would proceed to take it to the board."

Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio signed an order extending city health benefits to gay and other unmarried partners of city employees in April 2004, shortly before the county rejected the idea.

At the time, Bean said, two groups of county employees asked her to look into providing the coverage. Then-Commissioner Ronda Storms heard rumors about the request and moved to stop it at the next commission meeting.

She made a motion instructing Bean to take no action on the request and the commission passed it 4-3.

Beckner's agenda item, if approved by the commission, would rescind that directive and ask Bean to explore how much it would cost to expand the health coverage.