SACRAMENTO – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the first major gay rights legislation to reach his desk yesterday when he approved a bill that would require insurance companies to offer coverage to registered domestic partners. The governor's office announced his approval late yesterday without any fanfare or even a signing message explaining his decision. AB 2208, sponsored by Assemblywoman Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego, would require companies that offer health, life, homeowners and auto insurance to offer policies that cover domestic partners in the same way they cover spouses. Current law requires insurers to offer domestic partners coverage equivalent to a dependent, rather than a spouse. Gay rights advocates say the bill is a technical fix needed to pave the way for California's domestic partnership law, which takes effect next year. The law gives same-sex registered domestic partners a variety of rights and responsibilities now available only to married couples.
