That’s what would be allowed under a proposed rule change that the outgoing Kaine administration is apparently endorsing.
The big implication is that domestic partners of state employees would be considered “other qualified adults” if the rule is changed.
For the change to take effect, however, it would have to be approved by the McDonnell administraion upon taking office.
Julian Walker of The Virginian Pilot did some great work yesterday in uncovering the proposed changes. And he and Garren Shipley of nvdaily.com followed the original story up today with more extensive coverage.
While Goernor-Elect McDonnell’s team told both Walker and Shipley that they’ll be studying the issue, Shipley obtained a statement from Delegate Todd Gilbert viewing the proposal as an end run around both existing state law and Virginia public opinion.
Walker and Shipley were right to draw attention to the implication of “other qualified adults.”
It could become a far more visible issue during the next few weeks.
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