Hillsborough Commission votes 7-0 to create domestic partnership registry

Tampa – After hearing unanimous support from speakers in favor of a domestic partnership registry in Hillsborough County, the county commission voted 7-0 to move forward in the process of creating a registry for unmarried couples Sept. 17.

The move is a total reversal from a vote held in January 2013, where the board split on the creation of the registry 4-3, and ultimately denied it.

But things can change in a year and a half.

Unanimous!: The board inside the Hillsborough County Commission chambers shows the unanimous vote in favor of creating a domestic partnership registry. Photo by Aaron Alper
Unanimous!: The board inside the Hillsborough County Commission chambers shows the unanimous vote in favor of creating a domestic partnership registry. Photo by Aaron Alper

“It’s a different world,” said Commissioner Sandra Murman, who in 2013 voted against the registry’s creation. “Our group, our board and each individual member has worked hard on certain issues and solved so many major problems.”

The vote does not immediately place a domestic partnership registry in place. The vote simply asks the county attorney’s office to come up with wording for the ordinance. In Tampa Bay, the City of Tampa, Pinellas County and the cities of St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Gulfport all have domestic partnership registries.

“There was a lot of controversy on how that ordinance was pieced together,” said Commissioner Kevin Beckner, who moved for the registry’s approval. “We looked at the best practices. We looked at our sister county, Pinellas. But I don’t want to just use one county only [as a resource].”

Commissioner Victor Crist, who was also a ‘no’ vote in 2013, said he wants Hillsborough’s ordinance to be clear that it’s only valid in the county and that it should recommend to those registering that they should seek additional legal protections.

“They may sign up thinking it’s the only practice for legal documents that they may need to do their planning,” Crist said of the registry. “It’s incumbent upon us to help them understand that they need to do more and not just rely on the registry.”

When the final vote of 7-0 was taken, the audience erupted in a massive applause, and many were heard saying that it was “a step in the right direction.”

More on the vote and the discussion will be released soon.

More in News

See More