Source: Associated Press via Seattle Post Intelligencer
MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) The Moscow City Council has approved a resolution that provides insurance benefits to domestic partners of city employees.

The council approved the resolution 4-2 Monday at its final meeting of the year.

Regence Blue Shield of Idaho, the city's insurance company, recently began offering a plan that covers same- and opposite-sex domestic partners. Employees who meet the insurance company's requirements must also sign an affidavit to be eligible for the health insurance benefits.

The benefits take effect early next year, and the council has the option to review the plan by January 2009.

Mayor Nancy Chaney, who doesn't vote in the city's system, said the plan won't cause employee premiums to rise, a concern voiced by some employees.

The Idaho Values Alliance, a conservative Christian group, issued a news release before the vote, contending the city would be in violation of the Idaho Constitution's "marriage amendment" if it approved the benefit plan.

Moscow City Attorney Randy Fife said the city was adding an option to an insurance plan, not creating domestic partnerships.

"I think it's a terrific action that the Moscow City Council took," he told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "This is not about gay marriage. This is about equal pay for equal work."

Full article: Moscow ID City Council approves domestic partner benefits