(a) For the purpose of the benefits which are provided in Sections 1414, 1508, and 1608 of the Charter and in Sections 4.1161, 4.2008, and 4.2008.5 of the Administrative Code, the definition of qualified surviving spouse is hereby expanded to include a person who is a qualified surviving domestic partner, as defined below.
(b) In order for a domestic partner to become a qualified surviving domestic partner of a deceased System Member, Retired System Member, Plan Member or Retired Plan Member, the following requirements must have been met before said member’s death:
(1) A Declaration of Domestic Partnership, signed by both partners, must be on file with the Board of Fire and Police Pension Commissioners
(i) for at least one year prior to the date of the System Member or Plan Member’s nonservice-connected death while a member, or
(ii) on the date of the System Member or Plan Member’s service-connected death while a member, or
(iii) for at least one year prior to the effective date of the Retired System Member or Retired Plan Member’s retirement upon a service pension or upon a nonservice-connected disability pension, or
(iv) on the effective date of the Retired System Member or Retired Plan Member’s retirement upon a service-connected disability pension;
(2) The survivor must be either the domestic partner or spouse of the member on the date of the member’s death.
(c) For members who have filed an Affidavit of Domestic Partnership with the Personnel Department prior to the effective date of this section and who also file a Declaration of Domestic Partnership with the Board of Pension Commissioners on or before March 31, 2000, the filing date of said declaration for purposes of this section shall be the date the affidavit was accepted by the Personnel Department.
(d) This section shall become effective upon enactment and shall not be applied retroactively to grant benefits to the domestic partner of any member who died or retired prior to the enactment of this section.
(e) Effective January 1, 2005, to the extent required by state law, domestic partners registered with the state of California or two persons of the same sex whose legal union, other than a marriage, has been validly formed in another jurisdiction and is substantially equivalent to a state registered domestic partnership shall be treated the same as spouses for purposes of all provisions of the Fire and Police Pension Plan set forth in the Charter and Los Angeles Administrative Code. For these purposes, any reference to the date of a marriage shall be deemed to refer to the date of registration of a domestic partnership with the state or the date of a legal union in another jurisdiction, as applicable.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 173,028, Eff. 1-17-00.
Amended by: Sec. Number, Ord. No. 173,136, Eff. 3-24-00; Subsec. (a), Ord. No. 176,731, Eff. 6-21-05; Subsec. (e) added, Ord. No. 177,900, Eff. 9-28-06.
Renumbered from former Sec. 4.1160 by Ord. No. 179,538, Eff. 3-2-08.