Fiscal Note
The 2018 Adopted Budget includes $250,000 to provide health insurance benefits for domestic partnerships. In 2018 these funds are budgeted centrally and will be distributed to agency budgets throughout the year based on actual expenditures. At the time of budget considerations in the fall of 2017, 86 employees were receiving this benefit.
Title
SUBSTITUTE Creating Section 3.54(25)(b) and renumbering current Section 3.54(25)(b) to (c) of the Madison General Ordinances to provide a stipend to offset the cost of qualifying domestic partner health insurance.
Body
DRAFTER'S ANALYSIS: : Wisconsin enacted 2017 Wisconsin Act 59 (“Act 59) on September 21, 2017 which went into effect on January 1, 2018. Act 50 included a revision to §40.51(2m)(a) of the Wisconsin Statutes prohibiting a domestic partner of an eligible employee or a stepchild of a current domestic partnership from coverage under the group health insurance plan administered by Employee Trust Funds. The City previously provided a stipend before Employee Trust Funds covered domestic partnerships under the group health insurance. Now that the State is no longer covering domestic partners, the City is reinstating the stipend.
This substitute was necessary to strike the last sentence in newly created Sec. 3.54(25)(b).
***********************************************************************************
The Common Council of the City of Madison do hereby ordain as follows:
1. Subdivision (b) of Subsection (25) entitled “Health Insurance” of Section 3.54 entitled “Compensation Plan” of the Madison General Ordinances is created to read as follows:
“(b) The City will provide a stipend to qualifying employees to offset the cost of a qualifying domestic partner obtaining health insurance coverage outside of the City of Madison’s group health insurance program. The stipend will be equal to the amount of the premium paid by the employee’s qualified domestic partner not to exceed the difference between the maximum employer contribution to a Family Plan and the maximum employer contribution to a Single Plan, for which the certifying employee would be eligible under the City of Madison’s group health insurance program. Permanent part-time and hourly employees are eligible for this benefit based on the prorated share that the City pays for their health insurance premium. Stipends are paid on the City employee’s payroll check and are subject to all appropriate taxes. Employees who enter into domestic partnerships after January 1, 2018 are not eligible for this stipend.
2. Current Subdivision (b) of Subsection (25) entitled “Health Insurance” of Section 3.54 entitled “Compensation Plan” of the Madison General Ordinances is hereby renumbered to Subdivision (c).