FLORIDA: Broward County First In State To Order Domestic Partner Coverage

By order of the Broward County Commission, companies with five or more employees must now offer same-sex couples the same benefits they grant to married opposite-sex couples. Equality Florida reports:

Broward is the first county Florida to adopt an EBO [Equal Benefits Ordinance]. In 2005 Miami Beach became the first city in the state to pass an EBO, and the Miami Beach policy has been praised by the city commission and the staff, while reporting no negative fiscal impact. The ordinance places Broward County's domestic partnership policies among the strongest in the country. In recent years EBOs have been adopted as a state law in California, and in the cities of San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Olympia, Minneapolis, and Portland. The ordinance was introduced by Mayor Sue Gunzburger and was co-sponsored by all members of the commission.

With about 1.8 million residents, Broward is the 18th most-populous county in the nation. It has one of the highest concentrations of gay residents in the country.